- Alex Mitchell is expected to miss out on the squad while Henry Slade is a 50/50
- It presents a backline headache for Borthwick ahead of the New Zealand clash
England are facing significant disruption to their backline as Alex Mitchell looks set to miss the Autumn Nations Series opener against New Zealand at Twickenham — with Henry Slade also a doubt.
Mitchell, 27, has been Steve Borthwick’s first-choice scrum-half since last year’s World Cup but has not played since the summer tour of Japan and New Zealand due to a persistent neck injury suffered in pre-season. He is expected to miss out on the 36-man training squad named by head coach Borthwick on Monday.
Slade, 31, is regarded as ‘50-50’ for the clash with the All Blacks on November 2 as he recovers from shoulder surgery. The Exeter centre’s supreme club form after being overlooked for the World Cup saw him emerge as a key man in this year’s Six Nations and on the summer tour.
Northampton’s director of rugby, Phil Dowson, provided an update on Mitchell on Tuesday, saying: ‘He had an injection and we’re waiting to see how effective that’s been.
‘There’s no definitive timeline. We’re sat on our hands waiting to see how he is. He is improving, but improving very slowly. The fact he hasn’t played for quite a period of time and it (recovery) is very slow means I can’t see that turning around in the short term. It’s how we can accelerate that process without hurting anything long term.’
Alex Mitchell is expected to miss out on England’s 36-man squad which will be named today
Henry Slade is seen as a 50/50 as he recovers from shoulder surgery with no ‘definite timeline’
It presents upheaval for Steve Borthwick ahead of England’s Autumn Nations Series opener against New Zealand at Twickenham in November
Mitchell is likely to be invited into camp for medical assessments. His absence sets up a three-way scrap between Bath’s Ben Spencer, Harry Randall, of Bristol, and Leicester’s Jack van Poortvliet, for the No 9 shirt.
Sale No 10 George Ford is set to be named in the squad following a quad injury. Alex Sanderson, Sale’s director of rugby, said: ‘He’s probably about 10 days (away from a comeback).’
