Although the Welford Road outfit have so far failed to confirm the extent of the damage, it is believed that Johnson will miss a minimum of three weeks and probably more.

In addition to England’s Grand Slam bid against Ireland in Dublin at the weekend, the Tigers lock will also sit out his club’s Heineken Cup double-header with Perpignan.

And if Johnson does not return as quickly as he would hope, his place in England’s autumn international programme, which also includes matches against Romania and South Africa, is also under threat.

‘‘You have to be philosophical,’’ Johnson said.

‘‘I have seen a specialist and he said it could be worse.’’

Johnson’s club colleague Ben Kay is heading the queue to replace Johnson in the second-row, with Wasps Simon Shaw and Steve Borthwick of Bath also in contention.

However, Northampton scrum-half Matt Dawson also looks likely to be a major beneficiary from the Leicester man’s absence, and is set to take over as captain, hopefully with more success than the last occasion he led England, when they failed to capture the Grand Slam in the 2000 campaign thanks to a last day defeat by Scotland.