ANDY FARRELL could be out of action for a further week after failing to recover from the toe injury that has delayed his rugby union debut.

The 30-year-old former rugby league ace has failed to respond to treatment on the injury to the right big toe he sustained in a practice match.

Scans have since revealed that the toe is not broken but the bruising to the joint is still causing him problems and has kept him out of training for the last fortnight.

Farrell has been ruled out of the season opener against London Wasps tomorrow as well as Monday's A League game with London Irish and is unlikely to be fit in time to face Leeds Tykes next weekend.

Once he is fully fit, Diamond is unlikely to throw him straight into a Guinness Premiership match without any union games under his belt and he could make his bow in the A League game with Harlequins on Monday, September 12.

"Obviously, we had hoped that Andy would have fully recovered from the problem, but he's not quite ready yet," said the director of rugby.