England captain Owen Farrell ruled out of entire Six Nations with ‘freak’ injury

The England captain Owen Farrell will miss the entire Six Nations after Eddie Jones confirmed he requires surgery on the “freak” ankle injury he suffered in training for Saracens. Farrell is set to be sidelined for up to 10 weeks, dealing yet another blow to England’s tournament preparations.

Jones has also revealed that Jonny May is likely to miss the whole campaign with a knee injury while the Exeter second-row Jonny Hill is rated as “touch and go” for England’s opener against Scotland next Saturday. Courtney Lawes continues to progress through the return-to-play protocols from his head injury but news of Farrell’s extended absence comes after Joe Marler tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday before England were forced to evacuate their team hotel in Brighton due to a fire.

Jones insists the squad is relishing all the disruptions but Farrell’s absence from the whole tournament is a huge blow considering he has started every England Six Nations match since Jones’s first championship in 2016. Jones hinted he would deploy Henry Slade to fill the void at inside-centre but he does not intend to name his replacement captain until two days before the Scotland match.

Farrell was due to make his comeback last Sunday from an injury to his left ankle, suffered during the autumn, but sustained a different injury to his right ankle just a few days earlier. Saracens have said that “the recovery period has been estimated at eight to ten weeks until his return to action”.

Jones said: “It’s a massive blow for him personally and for the team it’s a blow, but it’s also an opportunity for other guys to step up into leadership roles, opportunities for other players to play for that No 12 jersey. We see it more as an opportunity. In