Sale Sharks could be without Chris Ashton for the start of the Gallagher Premiership campaign after their new signing was sent off for fighting during Friday’s impressive pre-season victory over French champions Castres.

Sale are sweating on a referee’s report from Romain Poite, the official who dismissed Ashton and Castres scrum-half Rory Kockott together following a second-half fracas.

From Poite’s report, likely to be submitted today, the Rugby Football Union will decide whether or not to cite Ashton and convene a panel. The disciplinary process for a pre-season fixture is the same as for a competitive one.

Video footage of the incident shows Poite brandishing a red card to a bemused Ashton before making a swinging gesture with his arm, indicating that he believed a punch to have been thrown.

The game, won 20-17 by Sale thanks to a first-half interception try from Denny Solomona, was a bad-tempered affair punctuated by six cards in total. There were three yellow cards, while Sale prop Alexandru Taurus also saw red for a dangerous clear-out.

Should Ashton’s case be taken further and a ban considered following Poite’s report, a chequered disciplinary record in England is likely to count against him.