Western Force flanker David Pocock is set to spend between four to six weeks on the sidelines after scans revealed a medial ligament strain in his injured right knee.

Pocock was sidelined early in the first half of the club’s match against the Sharks last Saturday night in Perth and will miss at least the next month of Super Rugby.

“It’s disappointing to lose David as he is clearly one of the best players in his position in the world. We’re fortunate however that the diagnosis means a relatively short time out of action, it certainly could have been much worse,” Western Force Head Coach Richard Graham said.

“During the period David is unavailable we can look to the quality and depth we have in our backrow stocks with Richard Brown, Ben McCalman and Matt Hodgson giving an excellent balance to that area of the ground,” Graham said.

Young outside centre Mitch Inman is also expected to be out for a similar period of time as Pocock after dislocating his right elbow in the opening minutes against the Sharks.

“It was really a bizarre injury and not something you often see in a tackle,” said Graham.

“As with David, Mitch’s injury could have been more severe. Our medical team were outstanding and reacted quickly to address the situation and put the joint back in place.”

Pocock will have a few days rest before starting his rehabilitation which will include wearing a brace for approximately three weeks. Inman meantime will be required to keep his elbow immobilised for at least a week before undertaking his rehab.

“We have world class medical staff here and they have mapped out a detailed programme for both David and Mitch. We look forward to seeing both boys progress through their rehab and make a return to the field for the Western Force,” said Graham.