England have been dealt a major blow in their preparations for the Six Nations after captain Owen Farrell suffered an injury in training this week, forcing him to miss Saracens’ clash with London Irish on Sunday.
Farrell, who has not played since November after injuring his ankle, had been targeting a return for the European Rugby Challenge Cup game to get minutes before England begin their Six Nations campaign against Scotland on February 5.
The fly-half, however, suffered an unspecified injury in training this week and he will see a specialist early next week.
The news is a big blow to England, who named their squad for the Six Nations earlier this week and are due to meet for a five-day training camp in Brighton on Monday.
England do not expect Farrell to be part of the 36-man squad meeting up for that, although an official update is not due until Monday.
Even if Farrell can prove his fitness, he will now be short on game time going into the Six Nations. The 30-year-old last played back in November and he had been targeting this weekend to earn some much-needed minutes on the pitch.
If he can get fit, there is a chance Farrell could feature for Saracens next weekend when they take on Wasps.
Should Farrell be unable to recover, his absence could pave the way for the in-form Leicester Tigers fly-half George Ford to return.
