Sheridan could miss England games

The British and Irish Lions prop sustained the injury in the 73rd minute following a scrum and could be set for a prolonged period on the sidelines, ruling him out of England's Test matches next month.

Jones said: "It looks like Andrew has dislocated his shoulder. It has gone out and come back in again, and if he misses the autumn internationals it would be a big loss because we know how important he is to England."

Sheridan's injury marred a classic encounter which saw Sale's teenage lock James Gaskell enhance his fast-growing reputation with a virtuoso performance.

The 19-year-old lock from Sandbach, who stands 6ft 7in, created a try for skipper Dean Schofield in the 37th minute with a fine run and then went over himself shortly after the restart as Sale responded in style to last week's thumping defeat in Toulouse.

Fijian flanker Sisa Koyamaibole got the ball rolling with their first try in the 33rd minute before Gaskell seized centre stage to illuminate an impressive performance from Jones' men.

Jones paid tribute to Gaskell, saying: "That young lad was outstanding and thankfully we have him tied down on a three-year contract.

"I'm delighted with our tries because they were something we worked on.

"We've performed well but we've got to be more clinical because if you make mistakes then you will get punished.

"But I'm proud of the the team and the commitment we showed."