England have been rocked by a knee injury to Alex Mitchell that will see the scrum-half miss Saturday’s Six Nations trip to Scotland.
Mitchell would have been expected to start the Murrayfield clash, but now faces an anxious wait to determine the extent of the problem.
The Northampton half-back suffered the injury in training on Friday, and England are still waiting on the results of scans to see how long he will be sidelined. The 26-year-old will be a major doubt for the remainder of the tournament however.
Danny Care will now be in line to start England’s third-round encounter in Edinburgh, with Bath’s Ben Spencer likely to take a seat on the bench.
Bristol’s Harry Randall has been called into England’s 36-man squad to prepare to face Scotland, as a direct replacement for Mitchell.
Bath centre Ollie Lawrence has handed England a rare injury boost however, returning to the full squad after hip trouble.
England were cautious enough to leave Lawrence out of their main training group last week, despite the powerful midfield man stepping up his rehabilitation at pace.
The former Worcester star has now shaken off his hip issue though, and can contest selection for the Scotland clash.
Manu Tuilagi’s availability after groin trouble suddenly hands England two potentially crucial power options, especially when breaking the gainline has proved an issue thus far in this year’s championship.
Northampton scrum-half Mitchell can lament wretched timing for his injury, with the all-action half-back having wrestled control of England’s No 9 shirt at the World Cup.
The lively attacking playmaker had picked up where he had left off in France at the start of the Six Nations, and was eyeing an extended run in the starting line-up.
But now England will most likely to turn to the ever-dependable and evergreen Harlequins star Care, with the 37-year-old having extended his fine World Cup form with both club and country.
Bath scrum-half Spencer has forced his way into the Six Nations squad, stepping up in the wake of Ben Youngs’ Test retirement. The former Saracens star has long been tipped for a fruitful Test career, but was largely ignored under former boss Eddie Jones.
At the age of 31 he boasts just four caps, and comes to sum up the kind of logjam of experience not matching talent that became commonplace in Jones’ elongated England tenure.
Bath’s fine season has allowed Spencer to force his way back into the wider squad, and now he will likely have a big chance to feature across the second half of this Six Nations campaign.
