MIKE Ruddock was glad to see Chris Latham limp from the field after fearing the worst when his star full-back went down clutching his knee towards the end of Worcester Warriors’ 26-11 Guinness Premiership victory over Newcastle Falcons.

The former Australian international put in a brilliant man-of-the-match performance at Sixways before injuring his left knee while chasing back to defend a long punt downfield.

As Latham tried to get to the ball first in the Warriors in-goal area, he twisted his leg and ended up writhing around with what looked like a serious injury.

However, after several minutes of treatment, he was helped off the pitch to a standing ovation.

Sixways director of rugby Ruddock said he was happy the stretcher wasn’t needed but doesn’t know the full extent of the injury.

He explained: “We’re hopeful it’s just bruising on the knee. The doctors checked him out and there didn’t appear to be any ligament damage as we first feared when he went down. Thankfully, it looks like it is not a major problem, but whether he’ll make this weekend’s game at Saracens or not, we don’t know.

“He was busy receiving his man-of-the-match award after the game so I didn’t get time to speak to him but the doctor said he’d inspected him fully and it just looks like bruising.

“He was fantastic against Newcastle and fully deserved his man-of-the-match award. When I saw him reaching for his knee in a lot of pain, I was expecting he’d be carried off, so to see him walk off was a major relief.

“He’s a fantastic player. Before we signed him, we knew all about him as a player, but we checked him out as a guy and everyone we spoke to said he’d bring a lot of enthusiasm, professionalism and leadership to the camp.”

The victory over struggling Falcons came at a price, though, as both hooker Chris Fortey and fly-half Matthew Jones picked up injuries.

Ruddock added: “Matt is going to have an X-ray on his foot. He’s been having some trouble with an ongoing ligament problem in his ankle which goes back to the Wasps game when he had to miss the following match with Leicester.

“It doesn’t appear to be the same injury, though, it looks like it is a bone injury on his foot. There is a possibility he could have done some damage to the bone or even fractured it.

“I felt for Chris having to come off and it was an expensive night for us with all the bumps and bruises we picked up. He took a heavy knock after taking the ball up from a line-out deep in our 22.

“He set up a target for us and took a big hit to his shoulder but he is a robust character and I’d be surprised if it keeps him out for too long — he may even be available this weekend.”

In terms of the result, the Warriors chief was happy with the four pointsbut felt his side didn’t hit the heights he was hoping for after the fine win at Sale the week before.

Ruddock said: “Our defence was excellent for the majority of the night until right at the end when Newcastle pressed hard and got their try.

“We did well but we’d have liked to have done a bit better with our continuity and width, but you have to give Newcastle some credit as they really pressurised us at the breakdown.

“They were afraid that we could do some damage with the players we’ve got out wide if we got some quick ball, so they stopped us getting the sort of ball that we wanted.

“They wouldn’t lie down and that was typified with their try at the end. They never really threatened us or looked like winning the game, but they wouldn’t lie down either.

“There are a lot of positives for us — we are realistic about the exact quality of the overall team performance but the four-point win is a massive bottom line for us which can give us confidence to press on.”