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Steve Borthwick is sweating on the fitness of first-choice halfbacks George Ford and Alex Mitchell, with both men looking doubtful for England’s autumn campaign.
Northampton’s Mitchell is yet to play this season as he suffers a neck problem, while Ford suffered a torn quad during Sale Sharks’ Premiership defeat to Saracens on Saturday.
The experienced fly-half missed the summer tour of New Zealand to deal with an issue with his Achilles in the hope of returning to full fitness ahead of a difficult November which sees England face New Zealand, the Australia, South Africa and Japan.
But head coach Borthwick is now looking forward to more detailed results from an analysis of his muscle injury.
“He pulled a muscle in his quadriceps [and] We don’t know how long it will take for rehabilitation at this stage,” said Alex Sanderson, director of rugby at Sale. “Based on initial reports, it’s a teardrop.
“I can’t foresee him being out for too long given the way he left the field, but I haven’t heard anything from the doctors yet.”
England will face the All Blacks at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham on November 2 in their first match of the Autumn Nations Series. Borthwick is expected to name his squad on October 16, before his team returns to Girona for a training camp.
Ford’s absence in New Zealand opened up an opportunity for Marcus Smith to start both games, while Fin Smith appeared on the bench as he continues to impress for Northampton.
His half-back partner Mitchell, however, was unable to feature in either of the Saints’ first two Premiership matches. The scrum-half grabbed the starting nine jersey for his country at last year’s World Cup and has become an increasingly key figure for Borthwick as England move towards a attacking at a higher rate.
His neck injury appears to be an ongoing concern, however, with Northampton boss Phil Dowson admitting he does not yet know when Mitchell might be back.
“He’s been through testing and treatment, and we’re just waiting to see if that treatment is enough to get him started again,” Dowson said.
“I really don’t have a timetable – it could be anything. It’s up in the air. He feels a little better after some time off.
“He is also frustrated because there is no timetable. What you don’t want to do is mess with it. We try to be quite conservative with this.
Ben Spencer, in sparkling form for Bath, would likely be the starter if Mitchell misses one of England’s autumn routes.
