England sweating on Maro Itoje injury

England are sweating over the fitness of second-row Maro Itoje after he limped off the field in Saturday’s victory over Ireland in Dublin.

Itoje is set to have a scan after sustaining a suspected knee ligament injury in his side’s 32-20 triumph at the Aviva Stadium.

The 24-year-old left the field early in the second half and was on crutches as he celebrated his side’s victory with team-mates after the match.

“I think he’s done a medial ligament,” England head coach Eddie Jones told the BBC after the match.

“Obviously we’ll investigate that.

“He’ll be a loss for us but we’ve got some other good players to come into the squad so we’ll wait and see.”

The extent of Itoje’s injury will not be known for the next few days as he will have to wait until any swelling has reduced before having the scan.

If he has damaged his medial collateral ligament, he could be ruled out from a matter of weeks to up to four months.

If Itoje is sidelined, Wasps lock Joe Launchbury is favourite to be called into the matchday squad for England’s next game which is against France at Twickenham on Sunday, February 10.