Fears that England may enter the Six Nations under a serious injury cloud are multiplying with six of their potential starting XV struggling to be fit in time for Friday week’s game against Wales. Owen Farrell has been forced to seek specialist advice on the knee damage he suffered in France on Sunday while concerns about Tom Wood and Geoff Parling have prompted Stuart Lancaster to call up Tom Croft and Christian Day to training.
England, already without influential figures such as Manu Tuilagi, Joe Launchbury, Courtney Lawes and Ben Morgan, are also unsure over Brad Barritt, Kyle Eastmond and Luther Burrell as they brace themselves for the tricky trip to Cardiff. Lancaster is already hinting there may need to be further additions to the squad over the next 24 hours.
It is a grim situation for the management who had been looking forward to an uninterrupted week of Six Nations planning at their training base in Bagshot. Now they are in limbo as they wait to discover how many of the casualties will be available to tackle Wales after a European club weekend which has taken a heavy physical toll.
“The players will be fully assessed once they get into camp this evening and it’s too early to give any definitive news on their status,” said Lancaster. “Tom’s ankle and Owen’s knee have been scanned. Owen will see a specialist this evening and we will be able to provide an update on him and the other injured players tomorrow, along with any other potential additions to the squad.”
The call-ups for Croft, who has not always been first-choice for Leicester in the past month, and the uncapped Day, a member of the Northampton pack outmuscled by Racing Métro on Saturday, would suggest Wood and Parling are struggling with ankle and knee injuries respectively, although Lancaster already has three other fly-halves in his squad if Farrell is a confirmed non-starter.
It has emerged, however, that Barritt also picked up a knee injury during Saracens’ defeat in Clermont while Burrell was concussed against Racing Métro. The latter will be unable to train until at least Friday, leaving England with only two fit specialist centres, Gloucester’s Billy Twelvetrees and Jonathan Joseph of Bath.