England's plans for the autumn Test campaign at Twickenham have suffered another untimely setback today, as Wasps flanker Sam Jones injured an ankle during training in Brighton this morning.
Just four days after being called into the senior national squad for the first time, the 24-year-old is returning to his club for further medical assessments, to determine the extent of the injury.
However, at this stage it must be highly unlikely that he will be considered for the matches against South Africa, Fiji, Argentina and Australia, starting on November 12.
Eddie Jones is likely to be without flanker Sam Jones due to an ankle injury suffered in training
The in-form Wasps star was in the running to replace James Haskell as England's No 7
ENGLAND'S AUTUMN INTERNATIONALS
November 12 vs South Africa
November 19 vs Fiji
November 26 vs Argentina
December 3 vs Australia
Jones has been in superb form for Wasps as the Coventry-based club have stormed to the top of the Aviva Premiership table with five consecutive victories.
His performances made a positive impression on Eddie Jones, who saw the uncapped player as a potential like-for-like replacement for his club colleague, James Haskell, who is recovering from surgery and will miss the autumn series.
The Red Rose head coach made it clear that he was viewing Sam Jones as a contender to start at openside, but his withdrawal from training leaves Mike Williams of Leicester as the leading candidate to wear the No 7 shirt.
England were put through their paces in a Judo session as part of their Brighton training
It is now likely that Mike Williams (left) will compete with Maro Itoje for the starting berth
It will also increase the possibility of the England management considering the option of switching Maro Itoje from lock to fill that back-row vacancy.
Eddie Jones and his assistants are already grappling with a lengthy casualty list. Among several players currently struggling with injuries are captain Dylan Hartley and premier goal-kicker Owen Farrell, who both have persisting back problems.
This is a damaging blow for Wasps as they prepare for Sunday’s titanic encounter with champions Saracens at Allianz Park.
That fixture will provide the ultimate early test of their title credentials, but now they must face last season’s Double-winners without one of their leading forwards.
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