LONDON (Reuters) - England's Ben Foden will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury, his club Northampton said on said on Tuesday, putting his World Cup hopes in jeopardy.
The fullback, who has won 34 caps, but has not featured for England since the 2013 autumn internationals, ruptured his left anterior cruciate ligament in Sunday's European Champions Cup win over Ospreys.
"The 29-year-old will now undergo surgery with a view to rehabilitating for the start of the 2015/16 season," Northampton said on their website (www.northamptonsaints.co.uk).
Foden missed last year's Six Nations with a knee problem, and the 2012 autumn internationals after damaging his ankle.
He faces a race against time to get fit for the World Cup, which begins in September.
England centre Manu Tuilagi is a doubt for the Six Nations after saying his recovery from a groin injury was progressing slowly.
"It's slow but it's getting there. No one's really sure how long it's going to take," he said on the BBC.
"When it first happened even the doctor said it would be six to eight weeks."