London (AFP) - England captain Owen Farrell has been ruled out of the entire Six Nations with an ankle injury, coach Eddie Jones said on Wednesday.
It had been hoped Farrell would be fit for England's tournament opener in Scotland on February 5 as he recovered from an earlier ankle injury suffered against Australia in November.
But Jones confirmed Farrell, who plays at fly-half or centre, needs surgery on an injury sustained while training with Saracens last week.
"Owen's had his operation, or was going to, so he'll be out of the Six Nations," Jones said at the virtual launch of the tournament.
Saracens said in a separate statement the operation would take place later on Wednesday, with the Premiership club estimating a recovery period of eight to 10 weeks until Farrell returns.
Jones, reflecting on 100-cap veteran Farrell's absence from the Six Nations, said: "It's a massive blow for him personally, and for the team it's a blow.
"But it's obviously an opportunity for other guys to step up into leadership roles, for other players to play for that 12 jumper.We see it more as an opportunity.
"In today's rugby having your best team on the field is a rare occurrence.We're pretty used to it."
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell, Owen's father, added: "I am sure he is gutted to have another injury, everyone would be at this time of year, the Six Nations is massive to anyone.
"But I have no doubt he has the appetite to come back better and stronger."
British and Irish Lions flanker Courtney Lawes is in line to replace Farrell as captain after leading England to wins over Tonga and world champions South Africa in November.
Lawes has been ruled out of England's pre-tournament training camp this week with concussion suffered playing for Northampton Saints against Ulster recently, but he is expected to be fit for the Scotland clash.
"Courtney is progressing nicely and we're still hopeful he'll be available for Scotland," said Jones.
Gloucester winger Jonny May, however, is set to miss the tournament because of a knee injury.
"Jonny's more likely than not going to have some surgery, but the details on that are a bit sketchy at the moment.He's more than likely to be out of the Six Nations," Jones said.
'Courage'
It appeared Jones was planing to play the 30-year-old Farrell at inside centre, alongside fly-half Marcus Smith, one of English rugby union's rising stars, at Murrayfield.
But Jones will now have to look again at his 10-12 pairing in the lead-up to the latest edition of the sport's oldest international fixture, with Henry Slade in line to take over the inside centre role.
"We've got other experienced backs -- we may move Sladey in one spot from 13 to 12," Jones said.
"It's important for any 10 in the world whether it's Marcus Smith or Finn Russell or whether it's (Romain) Ntamack for France that the 12 is a good communicator and takes some of the pressure away from the 10 in terms of giving good information and assisting in the defence role."
Smith has played just five Tests but Jones was impressed by the way the 22-year-old handled himself on England duty when his last-gasp penalty sealed a 27-26 win over the Springboks.
"It was one of those games where we were going to have win it two or three times," said Jones.
"He (Smith) showed a lot of courage, a lot of composure and a lot of skill and he's only going to get better during the Six Nations."
