Stephen Jones on Wilkinson and Cipriani, the two kings of English rugby

Jonny Wilkinson will miss England's November internationals and his participation in the RBS Six Nations Championship early next year is in doubt after it was confirmed that he had dislocated his left kneecap.

Wilkinson, 29, had a scan yesterday that revealed the extent of the damage he sustained playing for Newcastle Falcons against Gloucester on Tuesday and showed that he had torn a muscle around the knee. In normal circumstances, the injury requires surgery and four months on the sidelines.

Surgeons will have a better idea of his period of recovery after the operation and once the swelling has subsided. If there is ligament damage, he will be out for longer. Initial fears that he might have ruptured a tendon appear to have been unfounded.

Steve Bates, the Newcastle director of rugby, said: “It is obviously disappointing for Jonny to receive an injury just when he was back playing fantastic rugby, but he has enormous strength of character and I am sure he will come back stronger despite this blow.”

Wilkinson was hurt in the 25th minute of the Guinness Premiership match at Kingsholm, when he was knocked off his feet at a ruck after making a tackle. The fly half landed awkwardly and lay on the ground for five minutes before being helped off, leaving the ground on crutches. Graeme Wilkes, the Newcastle doctor, and Michael Bundy, the England team doctor, were in regular contact yesterday.

By coincidence, Wilkinson's setback occurred the night before Danny Cipriani, his rival for the England No10 jersey and the pretender to his throne, made his comeback from a fractured and dislocated ankle. It solves a problem that Martin Johnson, the England team manager, would rather have had to deal with.

Cipriani was omitted from the elite 32-man party and named in the Saxons squad because he was not expected to be fit until November at the earliest. Under the new agreement between the clubs and the RFU, Johnson can make changes to his main squad in the event of injury or for disciplinary reasons. Had Wilkinson stayed fit, Cipriani - in theory at least - could not have been considered.

Wilkinson will no doubt take this latest setback with his usual equanimity and pledge to return better than ever, but it is cruel that the fates conspire against him. All he craves is a run of games to return to his best form, something he was approaching in the three matches he had completed this season after returning from shoulder surgery. He had not missed a kick in 14 attempts and was looking his old self.

In his latest book, Tackling Life, published last month, Wilkinson wrote of his reaction after injuring knee ligaments against Worcester Warriors in September 2006. “It doesn't take me long, even from the biggest setbacks, to return to my core belief in sport and in life, too,” he said.

“If you want something enough and if it's worth enough to you, then you have to fight, fight, fight and then fight some more. I don't mean physically attacking other people, I mean smashing through challenges. I mean standing tall and believing in myself when others stop doing so. It entails getting up as soon as I physically can after I get knocked down and digging my heels in when it gets too tough for others. It is not time to call it a day until I decide I want to do so.”

Commenting on the kidney injury he sustained against Bristol in November 2006, Wilkinson went farther. “When one door closes, another one opens,” he wrote. “For the first time since the serious neck injury, which seemed to kick off this bizarre run of setbacks, I considered just how fragile my body (and the human body in general) was. It reinforced my growing understanding that our true strength and power must lie inside rather than in the muscles we build.”