New England Patriots center Bryan Stork has been ruled out of his team's AFC championship game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.

Stork sustained a knee injury in the second quarter of the divisional-round win over the Baltimore Ravens and has not practiced all week.

The fourth-round Draft pick has started 12 games this season including the playoffs and was credited with stabilising the offensive line.

Veteran Ryan Wendell is expected to take over from Stork, but that would leave a gap to fill at right guard for coach Bill Belichick.

Second-year player Josh Kline is the leading candidate to fill that role while Cameron Fleming is another possibility.