Leicester Tigers coach Richard Cockerill has revealed that Matt Smith could be available for selection within the "next couple of weeks".

The 28-year-old picked up a hamstring injury during the early exchanges of Saturday afternoon's 20-11 victory at the expense of London Irish.

However, despite reports that he might not return until January, Cockerill is hopeful that the centre will have recovered by the middle of December.

"We hope in the next couple of weeks he will be fit to play," BBC Sport quotes Cockerill as saying.

"It's probably not quite as bad as we first thought, the hamstring strain is a mild one. That, at least, is some good news."

Smith had only recently returned to action following a three-month spell on the sidelines with a broken thumb.