Gloucester lock Alemanno out for 'couple of months'

Lock Matias Alemanno has played in nine Premiership games for Gloucester this season

Gloucester lock Matias Alemanno has been ruled out for the next "couple of months" with a shoulder injury that has required surgery.

The Argentina international went off during the second half of Gloucester's defeat by Exeter on 29 December after suffering a "labral tear" in his shoulder cartilage.

The 31-year-old had appeared in every one of Gloucester's nine Premiership games this season - starting four - before the injury.

"He's out for a couple of months. We're coming up to a break in the Premiership which is in favour of that but he's still a month after that to come back," said director of rugby George Skivington.

Alemanno joined the club in 2020 and won his 96th cap for the Pumas during the Autumn Nation Series last November against Italy.

"Mati hit really good form, he was flying and we were seeing the best of Mati so from that point of view we're all gutted, he's obviously gutted," Skivington said.

"He's nearly a 100-Test international so he knows the score with how this goes, he'll knuckle down and come back fit and strong when he's available."

'Challenge' to balance team on two fronts

Alemanno joins a growing list of unavailable players for Gloucester. Zach Mercer and winger Ollie Thorley have both been ruled out for the rest of the season with knee injuries, while prop Afo Fasogbon has an ankle injury that means he is out for several months.

Gloucester are fifth in the Premiership but turn their attention this weekend back to the European Challenge Cup, where they reached the final last season.

They take on Scarlets on Friday before a trip away to Bayonne for their final pool game on 19 January.

Skivington said the team face a "challenge" to balance their squad on two fronts.

"We found that last year and we concentrated on cups, and this year we're going hard in the league and we're going well in the league," Skivington said.

"We have lost a few players so we definitely have to look further ahead than maybe ideally you'd like to.

"That is the challenge of European, domestic rugby. We know we work to a small squad and we've grown a lot of young players to cover injuries.

"But when you lose a good few which we have in the last month then I've got to be proactive in looking ahead over the next couple of weeks."