The England Sevens star has signed a deal until the end of the season and he will provide the Warriors with some much needed cover in the back row, with Netani Talei having been ruled out for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury.

"It was important that we reinforced this area and I'm particularly pleased to have signed a player of the quality of Chris Cracknell," Worcester's director of rugby Mike Ruddock said.

"He is a very well respected English qualified back row forward of immense potential. He has learnt his trade playing for teams like Exeter Chiefs and Cornish Pirates and, more recently, he was at Bath until Luke Watson arrived.

"Chris has also featured heavily for England Sevens and is quite obviously a very talented prospect. We look forward to seeing him the Warriors colours before too long."

Ireland flanker Ferris said that he was "furious" with the pair over what he perceived as deliberate acts of eye-gouging. However, both Dupuy and Attoub protested their innocence during and after the game.

But the two players have both now been cited by the citing commissioner for the match and have been summoned to appear before an independent disciplinary hearing on an as yet unconfirmed date.

Loose-head Duncan took a knock to his right foot during last Saturday week's Magners League victory over Munster and subsequent scans have now revealed a fracture of one of the tarsal bones.

However, the news that he will miss the rest of the Ospreys' games in the pool stages of the Heineken Cup has been offset by the return to full fitness of tight-head Adam Jones, who has been out of action since undergoing surgery on the shoulder he injured during the British & Irish Lions' tour of South Africa during the summer.

Ospreys physio Chris Towers commented: "In Duncan's case, the medical advice is to keep him off the injured foot for six weeks to allow the bone heal. Once it is confirmed that the bone has healed, we will then move him onto a progressive return to playing.

"Adam returned to full training at the end of last week, including contact, without any reaction, which is obviously excellent news. We are now looking to involve him in a normal rugby programme in training, which will see him available for selection against Viadana at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday."

The 31-year-old hooker was forced to withdraw from the Munster squad for last Friday night's Heineken Cup clash with Perpignan at Thomond Park with what the province's management described as a "slight Achilles problem".

However, it became evident over the weekend that the injury was far more serious than first thought and now requires surgery to rectify. As a result, the Limerick native is expected to be out of action for at least three months, putting his participation in next year's Championship in serious doubt.

The former Brive ace went under the knife on Friday and Ospreys physio Chris Towers expects the player back early in the New Year.

"Barry has failed to recover from a groin problem which has prevented him from training fully in recent weeks, through conservative treatment, so a decision was made in his best interests to opt for surgery," he said.

"It was not a major procedure, and with an aggressive rehab programme over the next couple of weeks, he is only likely to be unavailable for selection for a period of two to four weeks."

"Having the chance to play for a club like Bristol is a big moment for me," Miller said. "It's a massive opportunity to further my career and hopefully help Bristol in their bid for promotion.

"Obviously the financial instability at Coventry was a factor in my decision, but in truth it was a fairly straight forward one. Like all professional rugby players, I want to play at the top level and I have a chance to do that with Bristol.

"I'm now looking forward to getting stuck in with the club and hopefully contributing towards a successful season."

Bristol head coach Paul Hull believes that the versatile Miller will prove a valuable addition to his squad.

"Jamie is a flanker who can play right across the back row. He will give us much needed cover and support in a position that is very attritional," he said.

"We nearly signed Jamie at the start of this season and having the opportunity to sign him at this crucial time has given us a real boost.

"With the long term injury to Bertrand Bedes and with some short term injuries to James Merriman and James Phillips, signing Jamie was a sensible acquisition and we are all looking forward to working with him."

The removal order was issued after Perez was last month found guilty of domestic assault but he is hopeful that he might yet be allowed to remain in the country.

"I have made some mistakes which I do regret. Now I just want a chance for a new start and I hope people can accept that," he is quoted as saying by the New Zealand Herald.

However, Perez's situation is complicated further by the fact that he is currently facing a charge of an alleged assault on a doorman in New Plymouth last month and he is due back in court next week.