England face injury setback for Six Nations with rising star sidelined

The 21-year-old Sale Sharks forward will have an operation in Cardiff tomorrow after damaging his shoulder in training, a setback that comes just as he was closing in on a long-awaited return to action.

Opoku-Fordjour has not played since suffering an elbow injury in Sale’s Gallagher Prem defeat to Exeter Chiefs at the end of November. Having recovered from that issue, he was preparing to resume when the shoulder problem struck.

Sale Director of Rugby Alex Sanderson confirmed the news today, explaining the scale of the blow for both club and country.

“He will be having an operation to stabilise his shoulder in Cardiff tomorrow, which essentially puts him out for the next couple of months. It’s a real shocker for him, us and England.”

The injury is a significant setback for England head coach Steve Borthwick, who handed Opoku-Fordjour his debut against Japan at Twickenham in November 2024, making him the youngest English prop to win a cap. He went on to start against Argentina in the Quilter Nations Series and has now won six caps, also featuring against Australia this autumn.

Although capable of playing on both sides of the scrum, Opoku-Fordjour has recently specialised at tighthead, where England’s resources are now severely stretched. British and Irish Lion Will Stuart has already been ruled out of the Six Nations with a serious Achilles injury, leaving Borthwick short of options with the opening match against Wales just three weeks away.

Gloucester’s Afolabi Fasogbon, who lifted the Under-20 World Cup alongside Opoku-Fordjour in 2024, and Northampton’s 33-year-old Trevor Davison are among those who could be asked to step up. Leicester’s Joe Heyes, meanwhile, has enjoyed an outstanding six months in the role and now looks more important than ever.

Sanderson outlined how the latest injury occurred and why surgery was unavoidable.

“It was a contact on the ground last week that destabilised his shoulder. I haven’t really got much more information than that. He was training and running, but wasn’t feeling good and went for a scan.

“And you have to follow medical opinion. It’s a routine operation, and he will be back at the end of the Six Nations, I’d imagine,” he said.

Despite the disappointment, Sanderson believes Opoku-Fordjour has the mentality to cope with missing one of the biggest tournaments of his young career.

“It takes a special kind of person to take on the psychological load of playing international rugby at tighthead at 19 or 20 years old anyway. So he has got that ability to handle and reframe.

“Most people would go dark and down rabbit holes. He doesn’t, he just gets on with it. I had a little chat and cuddle with him and wished him the best, and he said, ‘yeah thanks, no problem.’

“He is probably looking ahead to when he comes back and how strong and fit he is going to be. That’s the type of character that he is. People have a mentality that suits the pro game. He is one of them,” he added.