Saracens boss Mark McCall believes there is still a chance Owen Farrell will be fit for the opening match of the series despite the alteration by World Rugby to the protocols governing concussion.
“Yeah, he is at the club. He has been in the last two days to see the medics and got through the procedures and the process he has to,” said McCall.
“You would probably need to talk to someone else for the exact A to Z of what he needs to do but it is a little bit different now and potentially a bit longer
“We will wait and see. There is still a chance that he will be available to play in game one and fingers crossed that is the case. He is certainly going in in good form.
“He had a really strong start to the season. He’ll be okay, I think.”
England will spend five days in Jersey this week as they continue their preparations for their four Autumn Nations Series fixtures at Twickenham Stadium
Owen Farrell Concussion:
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Close-up:
Owen Farrell Facts:
- The Saracens star went to school with England teammate George Ford.
- He became the youngest ever player to appear in English professional rugby, making his debut aged 17 and 11 days.
- It’s well known that Owen is the son of Ireland head coach Andy Farrell. However, it’s less commonly know that his uncle Sean O’Loughlin is also a rugby league legend, winning 34 caps for Great Britain between 1993 and 2009.
- Owen Farrell married his longtime girlfriend Georgina “Georgie” Farrell (née Lyon) in July 2018. Their son, Tommy Farrell, was born in March 2019.
- He was not at first registered as a Farrell, but took mum Colleen’s family name of O’Loughlin. The couple married in 1995, changing Owen’s surname to Farrell the following year.
- In 2005, the 13-year-old Farrell had a trial with Manchester United, and did enough to convince the club’s academy executives that the then goalkeeper deserved an extended spell with the club.
Unavailable for training camp due to injury:
Lewis Ludlam (Northampton Saints) – Hip
The flanker suffered a hip injury during their defeat to Bath.
‘Lewis has got a hip pointer, quite a bad one I think, but nothing structurally upset, that’s my medical version,’ said Northampton coach Phil Dowson.
Owen Farrell (Saracens) – Concussion
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs) – Knee
On Cowan-Dickie, Exeter head coach Ali Hepher said. “It’s his knee. He couldn’t carry on, but we are not sure of the extent yet. We will have to assess.”
Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints) – Concussion
Jonny May (Gloucester) – Dislocated elbow
May is a major doubt for England’s autumn series after suffering a suspected dislocated elbow in Gloucester’s 22-21 Gallagher Premiership victory over London Irish on Friday night.
Alfie Barbeary (Free Agent) – Hamstring
The number eight limped off in Wasps defeat to Bristol Bears in September after reinjuring the problem area that dogged him throughout 2021.
Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers)
