England are still awaiting news on key signings as head coach Steve Borthwick prepares to announce his 36-man squad for next month’s Autumn Nations Series.
Borthwick’s scrum-half Alex Mitchell is likely to be out for a further few weeks, while Borthwick’s Northampton team-mate Fraser Dingwall aggravated a knee problem in England training last week and missed Friday night’s game against Sale. He will also be absent.
Sale says George Ford should be back on the training ground next week and Tom Curry is fit and ready for the national team’s upcoming warm-weather camp in Spain. Borthwick received some good news from. However, Northampton’s director of rugby Phil Dawson said a timetable for Mitchell’s return from his neck injury had not yet been determined.
“He has received the injection and is waiting to see how effective it is,” Dowson said. “There are a lot of questions about that. People are reluctant to do anything more invasive, so a conservative approach is the best approach. Unfortunately, there’s no timeline for this, so we You’ll just be waiting silently to see how he’s doing.
“He’s improving, but very slowly. It’s important from a long-term perspective how we can accelerate that process without putting ourselves at risk. I don’t think he will. He’s a little frustrated, but we want him to do the right thing.”
Sale director of rugby Alex Sanderson said Tom Curry (pictured) was in a “very good” mental state and felt “like an 18-year-old again”. Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images
Dingwall, a candidate for England’s starting midfield spot, has been recovering for several weeks with a knee problem, while Alex Coles, the nation’s third Saint, is recovering from a rib injury. On the plus side, Sale director of rugby Alex Sanderson has given more positive updates on Ford and Currie, whose start to the season was interrupted by injury.
Ford, 31, underwent a quadriceps adjustment against Saracens last month and has spent more time in the Sharks coaching box than on the field in recent weeks. But Sanderson estimates there are still 10 days before Ford is able to resume playing, meaning that when England select their squad to face New Zealand on November 2, there will be only one fly-half in the squad. This means that he will not be able to play competitive rugby for several months.
However, Curry topped the Sharks’ tackle tally against Newcastle last week and will be keen to repeat his role against Northampton. Sanderson said, “Tom Curry is back!” He seems to be in a really good mental state. As I was talking to Tom, he said to me: “I felt like I was 18 again.” We’ve been working to get him out and we feel like we’re getting there. ”
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Meanwhile, injured Wales captain Dafydd Jenkins has confirmed he will miss the entire autumn, but is aiming to return to his club Exeter before Christmas. Jenkins also said he opposed proposals to introduce a 20-minute red card rather than a permanent sanction if a player is sent off for dangerous or reckless head contact.
“The only way I can think of is probably to reduce the value of the red card,” Jenkins said. “I think we’re changing rugby in a big way. There’s no point in changing something that doesn’t need to change.”
