England are facing a significant issue at prop for the Six Nations with Asher Opoku-Fordjour the second tighthead to be ruled out of the tournament.
The 21-year-old, who can play on both sides of the scrum, has sustained a shoulder injury in Sale Sharks training and will undergo surgery on Friday that is set to sideline him for at least a couple of months.
Opoku-Fordjour joins Will Stuart, the Bath prop, in being ruled out of the Six Nations, with the British and Irish Lions set to miss the remainder of the season with a ruptured achilles.
It leaves only Joe Heyes, who started three of England’s games in November, as an established international option available to Steve Borthwick ahead of their Six Nations opener against Wales on 7 February.
“He will have surgery tomorrow in Cardiff which essentially will put him out for the next couple of months," said Sale director of rugby Alex Sanderson ahead of his side’s Investec Champions Cup trip to Toulouse.
"It is a real shocker for him, for us and for England."
Opoku-Fordjour had appeared in line to back-up Leicester’s Heyes, whose fitness now appears vital, during the Six Nations. Northampton’s Trevor Davison won his third England cap in the United States last summer and offers an experienced option.
Perhaps vying for inclusion behind him are youngsters Afolabi Fasogbon and Vilikesa Sela, at Gloucester and Bath respectively. The highly-rated pair were part of the same U20s set-up as Opoku-Fordjour and are considered players of real potential. Bristol’s George Kloska has also previously featured for England A.
At loosehead, Fin Baxter is yet to feature in 2026 for Harlequins due to injury. Borthwick is set to name his squad for the Six Nations on Friday 23 January.
Opoku-Fordjour’s injury is an untimely set-back for a player who earned his sixth cap in England’s win over Argentina in the autumn, but Sanderson expects him to bounce back.
“It takes a special kind of person to take on the psychological load of playing international rugby at tighthead at 19 or 20 years old,” he said
“He already has that ability to handle, to reframe, to carry. Some people could go down rabbit holes, but he doesn’t. He just gets on with it. He is probably already looking ahead to how strong and fit and physical he is going to be when he comes back. That is the kind of character he is.”
