De Luca hit with long ban

Scotland and Edinburgh centre Nick De Luca has been handed a 13-week ban for a dangerous tackle which should see him ruled out until the end of the season.

An independent RaboDirect PRO12 disciplinary committee ruled De Luca should serve the suspension following his dismissal against the Ospreys last Friday, the league announced in a statement.

De Luca, who has 38 caps for Scotland, has the right to appeal.

De Luca was playing for the second time following his return from surgery on a fractured eye socket suffered in training in January, an injury which had meant he was expected to miss the RBS 6 Nations.

De Luca was sanctioned following a tip-tackle on Ospreys scrum-half Tom Grabham during Edinburgh's loss at the Liberty Stadium.

A statement from the league read: "Nick De Luca, the Edinburgh centre, appeared today before an independent RaboDirect Pro12 disciplinary committee comprising Michael Coghlan, Dr Barry O'Driscoll and David Hurley (all from Ireland), following the red card issued by the referee for a tip tackle contrary to Law 10.4(j) during the Ospreys and Edinburgh match on Friday 22 February.

"Having considered all of the evidence presented, including the video of the incident, the disciplinary committee considered the incident to be at the top end level for this type of offence, which has a range of suspensions from 12 to 52 weeks and having taken into account aggravating and mitigating factors, decided that a suspension of 13 weeks was appropriate.

"The suspension concludes at midnight on Sunday 26 May 2013. The player has a right of appeal."