Olly Morgan could make a shock return from injury to face Cardiff Blues in the Heineken Cup on Sunday.

The Gloucester full-back left the field shortly after half-time at Newcastle three days ago with an open dislocation to the small finger of his right hand.

He underwent surgery on Sunday night and it was revealed he had not fractured the finger – as was first feared – nor had he suffered tendon damage around the knuckle.

Gloucester head coach Dean Ryan said: "At this stage it is too early to say when he might play again and we would not make a decision about this weekend's game against Cardiff for another couple of days to let the injury settle down.

"But we are obviously extremely relieved that the injury was nowhere near as serious as first indicated, because Olly is a key member of our squad and has been in outstanding form.

"He can begin his rehab almost immediately and with the number of games we have approaching it is vital we have players of Olly's calibre around the squad."

Gloucester are continuing to monitor a dead leg suffered by captain Mike Tindall during the defeat at Kingston Park ahead of Sunday's crucial Heineken Cup pool clash at Kingsholm.