Owen Farrell is primed to make his rugby return on Saturday for Saracens after a four-month absence.
The England captain missed the entire Six Nations campaign following surgery on his right ankle but has spent the past two weeks training with his teammates. Barring another “freak injury” – as the England head coach, Eddie Jones, called the last one – Farrell should be in contention for his first game since November.
“We will assess him tomorrow and Friday and make sure everything is OK,” the Saracens director of rugby, Mark McCall, said. “Fingers crossed he will be able to take part in the game.
“He is obviously a great player, everyone knows that. For him personally it is great as well, he loves playing rugby and he has not played much. If he does play he is certainly looking forward to it and we are chuffed to have him back.”
Saracens will play Bristol at Tottenham Stadium as they look to close the 12-point gap to Leicester at the top of the Premiership table. More than 40,000 tickets have already been sold, according to the club’s press officer. Those in attendance will likely see a formidable Saracens team as McCall said that all of his England returnees are available for selection as well.
One of them is the hooker Jamie George, who is poised to play his 250th game for the club. Another is the 23‑year‑old lock Nick Isiekwe, who resurrected his international career in the Six Nations this year after a four‑year hiatus.
“Nick got capped early, maybe on reflection a bit too early, and had a couple of difficult experiences, especially away in South Africa when he played there,” McCall said, referencing England’s 42-39 defeat in Johannesburg in 2018. “He’s 23 now and much more ready for it. He is on top of his game, a lot more mature and confident in himself.”
McCall spoke glowingly of his England stars despite their struggles during a disappointing tournament under Jones: “Historically our players have been superb at coming back. We are also conscious of the fact, especially in the last two games they have played in, they would have taken some kind of emotional toll.
“Going down to 14 men against Ireland and playing the way they did and the occasion they were part of on Saturday [the 25-13 defeat in Paris], we are very conscious they are human beings and not robots and not to expect them to jump from international rugby straight into club rugby.”
Farrell, though, is one of the few England players whose stock has soared these past two months and he will be itching to re-establish himself as the linchpin for club or country. McCall has no doubt that he will.
“It’s easy to look back on history and that tells us normally [he fits in] pretty quickly, to be honest,” McCall said. “He’s got the potential to hit the ground running, that’s for sure. I think we all have to be patient and be aware his best rugby probably won’t be this Saturday, but will be in the weeks to come.”
