USA flyhalf and Sale Sharks star AJ MacGinty is likely out for a long period after suffering a knee injury in the Sharks' 30-29 victory over Harlequins in Manchester, England, on Saturday.

MacGinty was injured during a ruck on his own team's tryline when he shoved onto the No. 10, pinning his leg awkwardly.

Sharks director of rugby Steve Diamond said he was impressed with MacGinty's bravery and noted that the USA star has been excellent for the Sharks all season.

"It looks like a serious knee injury, but we've whipped AJ off to hospital to have a look at it," Diamond told the press after the game. "He fell in our hour of need — he was defending really well and got us into a good position in parts of the game. Fair play to the lad — he puts his body on the line and you can only do it so much."

Diamond said this is a blow to the Sharks.

"We've been building the side around AJ," he said. "It took him a year to settle in with us, but he's a phenomenal goal-kicker and a great defender. And he understands the game really well."

The USA will feel the loss, as well. However, with MacGinty being such an integral part of the Sale effort, he was not going to be part of the USA's ARC season. As a result, Eagles head coach Gary Gold is already looking at options.

Will Magie, Ben Cima, and Will Hooley are all vying for a starting role as the Eagles open the Americas Rugby Championship on Feb. 3 against Argentina in Carson, CA.

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Cima is a former High School All-American and USA U20 standout who played with Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C., before moving on to the Rocky Gorge club. Magie helped lead the USA U20s to the 2012 Junior World Trophy title and played professionally in England (where he grew up) for Ealing and in the USA as well. He's now with the Glendale Raptors. 

Hooley is a new name. He played for England's U20 team and was in the Northampton Academy system before moving on to Bedford. He qualified for the USA by virtue of an American grandparent.

Really grateful for all the messages over the last couple of days. Massively looking forward to the hard work ahead and the opportunity with @USARugby ??

— Will Hooley (@will_hooley) January 5, 2018

Like MacGinty, all three of those players are accomplished goalkickers and will have the opportunity to not only to fill the No. 10 shoes now but also possibly later this year, depending on the seriousness of MacGinty's injury.