England fullback Delon Armitage’s World Cup hopes are in jeopardy after he was cited for striking Northampton fly-half Stephen Myler.
The 27-year-old had already missed the whole of England’s successful RBS 6 Nations campaign due to a suspension for pushing an anti-doping officer in January.
Now the London Irish player is in trouble for his clash with Myler during last week’s Premiership clash at Franklin’s Gardens.
He was reported by citing officer Alan Mansell and will face an RFU disciplinary hearing next Tuesday to decide his fate.
If found guilty, Armitage seems certain to receive a lengthier ban as a result of his previous indiscretion.
“His behaviour was completely unacceptable,” said Judge Jeff Blackett when he threw out Armitage’s appeal in January.
“It brought discredit on himself and his club, and failed to uphold one of the core values of the game – respect.
“We took the offences as a whole and, in line with the sanctions for abuse of match officials, we decided that a low-end entry point of 12 weeks was appropriate.
“This was reduced to eight weeks on account of his remorse, his letter of apology to the doping control officer and his relatively good record.”
Armitage was England’s first choice fullback in 2009 before losing his place to Ben Foden during last year’s championship.
And with Martin Johnson set to announce his squad for the World Cup on August 22nd, Armitage will be hoping in-form Alex Goode and Nick Abendanon don’t take advantage of his absence to take his spot.
