England: Covid-hit Jonny May set to miss second Australia Test

Colin Newboult

File photo dated 06-11-2021 of England's Jonny May. Wings Jonny May and Jack Nowell have been named in a 35-man England squad for a three-day training camp this week. Issue date: Monday June 6, 2022.

England wing Jonny May will miss the second Test with Australia as he deals with the effects of testing positive for Covid-19.

The speedster was placed in isolation after going down with the virus upon arrival in Perth and missed the first encounter as a result.

May was expected to be available for the next match with the Wallabies in Brisbane but he has yet to resume full training.

Long seven days

“It was a long seven days for Jonny! He’s been back on his feet today (Tuesday) running, but he didn’t join in with the team. It will be a graded return to full training for him,” defence coach Anthony Seibold said.

“We tried to include Jonny while he was in isolation, so sending him the team meetings, the backs meetings.

“We’ve used him as a really experienced Test player. We have a really young group in the backs so he’s been bit of a resource for those guys.”

The news about May is the latest setback for England following Tom Curry’s withdrawal from the squad due to concussion.

“It’s about looking after the welfare of Tom. There’s a longer-term piece at play with Tom’s health,” Seibold said.

“He’s had some concussions over the recent period of time so the medical staff would rather err on the side of caution. We don’t have any concerns over his medium to longer term health.

“The medical team have made the decision that rather than keeping Tom for the rest of the tour he can get home, get some rest and recover back home.

“He’s in good form, I was talking to him this morning. He’s disappointed he’s not staying and can’t play because he’s a competitor, but there’s a longer-term view at play.”

Competitors for openside position

Several players will battle for Curry’s shirt leading into the second Test with Sam Underhill, Lewis Ludlam and Jack Willis all in contention.

“Sam was one of the outstanding players at the 2019 World Cup,” Seibold said.

“He missed out on selection for the first Test but he’s competed really strongly to put him in the frame for the second one.

“Lewis Ludlam came on and competed really strongly when Tom came off with the HIA.

“He’s been a great leader for Northampton this year and when he comes into camp you can certainly tell why he’s the captain of his club. He’s got some great leadership quality and he competes really hard.

“Jack Willis from Wasps is really good over the ball. He competes really strongly defensively.”

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