England handed massive Six Nations boost
NEWS: England received some good news ahead of their 2022 Six Nations campaign.
Playmaker Owen Farrell and powerhouse centre Manu Tuilagi are both expected to be fit by the time England face Scotland in Edinburgh on February 5.
Farrell was originally ruled out of action for three months in November after he injured his ankle in a Test against Australia. However, Saracens boss Mark McCall provided a more positive update this week.
“He will be back towards the end of January,” McCall said.
“It won’t be in the next couple of weeks, but it should be before the Six Nations.”
Hooker Jamie George, who sustained a knee injury in that Wallabies Test, could feature for Saracens this weekend.
“Some of the estimates that you get are quite conservative, to begin with, and there is always an expectation that Jamie would beat the estimate,” McCall added.
“He was very, very nearly OK for last weekend, but when Covid came and he couldn’t do the exercise he could, we thought we would wait a week. He is raring to go and we can’t wait to have him back.”
Meanwhile, Sale Sharks director of rugby Alex Sanderson said Tuilagi is recovering well from the hamstring tear he suffered in England’s 27-26 win over the Springboks.
“Manu is a really quick healer,” Sanderson said. “He’s had a few [injuries], hasn’t he, so he knows how to manage injuries. I think he’s a bit early and it’s going to be on the specialist’s call, but at the moment, he’s doing really well.
“We are supremely happy, the more games he can get and the more he can influence people around here, the better.
“There’s a Leicester game before the Six Nations, which is obviously a big one for him, but we’re hoping to get him back a week or two before that. Fingers crossed. He’s definitely ahead of schedule, but we still need to get the sign-off.”
