England hopeful stood down with immediate effect

The winger had already spent four months on the sidelines after being injured just 52 minutes into Bristol’s opening Prem match of the campaign, and now faces another spell out after Pat Lam confirmed he has ruptured his hamstring.

Director of rugby Lam said on Ibitoye’s injury: “He got caught in a tackle which ruptured his hamstring, so Gabs is gone for the season now and he'll have to have surgery.

“It's going to be about three to four months that he will be out, so he'll be back for the start of next season.

“We have still got some quality up there in the back three, so we'll go from there.”

Bears have endured a difficult run with injuries this season, with as many as 15 backs unavailable at the height of their injury problems, leaving them struggling to field full training sessions.

Even so, they remain just five points behind fourth-placed Exeter Chiefs following last weekend’s defeat to Saracens, and travel to face league leaders Northampton Saints tomorrow night.

Ibitoye joins Pedro Rubiolo, Gabriel Oghre, Bill Mata and Benjamin Grononda among the players ruled out for the rest of the 2025/26 campaign.

He finished as the league’s joint top try-scorer in 2024/25 with 13 tries and represented England A in 2024.

His performances last season prompted talk of a potential first England cap, although that opportunity did not materialise, largely because of concerns over his defence and strong competition elsewhere.