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Manager Steve Borthwick has been diligent about the fitness of first-choice halfbacks George Ford and Alex Mitchell, but their availability for England’s autumn campaign appears doubtful.
Northampton’s Mitchell is yet to feature this season as he deals with a neck problem, while Ford suffered a quadriceps tear in Sale Sharks’ Premiership defeat to Saracens on Saturday.
The experienced fly-half missed the summer tour of New Zealand to resolve an Achilles tendon issue in hopes of returning to full fitness ahead of England’s tough November fixture against New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Japan. I was absent.
However, head coach Borthwick is now anxiously awaiting more detailed results from scans for the muscle injury.
Sale Director of Rugby Alex Sanderson said: “He has torn his quadriceps muscle and at this stage we don’t know how long his rehabilitation will take.” “From the initial reports, it was a tearjerker.
“Given the way he left the field, we wouldn’t expect a very long layoff, but we haven’t heard anything from the doctors yet.”
England will face the All Blacks in the first match of the Autumn Nations Series at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium on November 2. Borthwick is expected to announce the team’s name on October 16, before returning to Girona for training camp.
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Alex Mitchell has become a key figure for England (Getty Images)
Ford’s absence in New Zealand opened up the opportunity for Marcus Smith to start both games, while Finn Smith, who continues to impress at Northampton, came on from the bench.
However, his halfback partner Mitchell has not featured in either of Saints’ first two Premiership games. The scrum-half earned a place in his country’s starting nine at last year’s World Cup and has become an increasingly important figure for Borthwick as England move towards a more high-tempo attacking game.
Mitchell’s neck injury remains a concern, with Northampton manager Phil Dawson admitting he does not yet know when Mitchell will return.
“He has had scans and some treatments, but we are waiting to see if the treatments are enough to get him well again,” Dowson said. outlined.
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Alex Mitchell has yet to feature for Northampton this season (PA Wire)
“I don’t really have a schedule. Anything can happen. It’s up in the air. He’s feeling a little bit better now that he’s had some time off.
“He’s also frustrated because we don’t have a calendar. The last thing we want to do is mess with it. We try to be pretty conservative with it.”
Bath’s in-form Ben Spencer is likely to start if Mitchell misses England’s autumn itinerary.
