Sam Graham injury a blow for Phil Dowson

Northampton boss Phil Dowson described Sam Graham’s first-half knee injury as “pretty nasty” on a tough night for the champions.

The No.8 was injured in a tackle and replays were blocked because they were too gruesome to show on stadium screens.

“He’s pretty sore and pretty upset,” said Dowson, who added that he was frustrated at how Northampton had failed to take their chances.

“Leicester had a very good defence and we were not quite on our game. It’s not all bleak because we are creating chances – we just couldn’t finish them.”

Dowson said the neck injury to Alex Mitchell was still taking time to get a proper assessment. He also said George Furbank was ok after leaving the field in the second half because of a head knock.

Leicester boss Michael Cheika praised his team for their physicality. He said: “We were pretty gritty and we played pretty physical. There is still more to improve.

“We will be challenged by a lot of good teams in the league and will have to scramble defensively, but you can’t make a living out of that.”

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