FORMER Thornbury Broncos ace Mako Vunipola is set to see a specialist next week to find out whether he will miss this year’s RBS Six Nations Championships.

The Saracens prop, who, with brother Billy was a student at Castle School, Thornbury, as teenagers, has suffered a knee injury and is out til at least February, which means missing the opening rounds of England’s defence of the Six Nations Grand Slam won under national boss Eddie Jones ten months ago.

The bulldozing prop will see the specialist in order to get a definitive date on his return which may or may not rule him out of the entire competition and a shot at impressing British Lions coach Warren Gatland before the summer tour to New Zealand.

And if the absence of Mako Vunipola is bad enough, the missing Billy, England’s top number eight but out after damaging ligaments in November during the Autumn Tests, is a major loss for Jones.