England scrumhalf out of Rugby World Cup with ankle injury

England scrumhalf Jack Van Poortvliet has been ruled out of the Rugby World Cup after suffering an ankle injury.

Van Poortvliet sustained the problem in the first half of the World Cup warm-up match against Wales at Twickenham on Saturday and is set to undergo ankle surgery.

The 22-year-old Leicester back has been replaced in Steve Borthwick's 33-man World Cup squad by Northampton's Alex Mitchell.

"It's really bad luck for Jack and we send him our very best wishes for a swift and successful recovery," Borthwick said.

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Mitchell joins Ben Youngs and Danny Care as Borthwick's scrumhalf options for the World Cup in France next month.

The 26-year-old was unfortunate to miss out on the original squad after making four impactful replacement appearances during the 2023 Six Nations Championship, injecting energy and tempo into England's play.

Borthwick faces another issue at half-back as England wait for the outcome of the disciplinary hearing that will determine the length of Owen Farrell's ban after his Twickenham red card.

Farrell's shoulder-led challenge to the head of Taine Basham was upgraded from a yellow card to red by the 'Bunker' review system and he could now miss England's World Cup opener against Argentina.

The England captain must now appear before a video disciplinary hearing that begins on Tuesday to find out the length of his suspension.

He received a three-match ban for the same offence in January, on top of five matches in 2020 and two in 2016.

Pool A

France, New Zealand, Italy, Uruguay, Namibia

Pool B

South Africa, Ireland, Scotland, Tonga, Romania

Pool C

Wales, Australia, Fiji, Georgia, Portugal

Pool D

England, Japan, Argentina, Samoa,