Ruan Ackermann a World Cup wild card for England? 'He is in the conversation'

Former Lions loose forward Ruan Ackermann could be a wild card pick for England at this year's Rugby World Cup.

Ackermann has been on the books of English club Gloucester since 2017.

The 27-year-old played for South Africa A in 2017, but now qualifies to play for England on residency grounds.

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Ackermann's domestic season was cut short after a knee injury in Gloucester's 29-26 Champions Cup round of 16 defeat to La Rochelle on 1 April.

However, it is believed that Ackermann's injury is not as bad as initially feared.

In an interview with Rugby Pass, Gloucester boss George Skivington suggested that Ackermann could still potentially be a World Cup squad member.

Skivington confirmed he had a conversation with England coach Steve Borthwick about Ackermann's performances. 

"He is in the England conversation and his form and work he has put in is the reason for that. Ruan does need surgery, but the scans showed it wasn't as bad as it could have been and the knee has to settle down. It was that 150kg guy rolling through his knee - and that would have finished most of us off," Skivington said.

"We won't see him again this season, but we have our fingers crossed that the recovery won't be a long slog like we have had with numerous other players. The scans showed damage but nothing horrific and we don't want to make plans until they cut open and tell us what is needed to be done. We are relatively positive about it. It isn't ACL but there are a few areas of damage and hopefully not something like six to nine months."

The Gloucester coach added: "He is a tough character but, like all of us, he is pretty devastated about it. This is the first one that while it isn't