England’s Marcus Smith could be out of the ENTIRE Six Nations after worrying injury update

England have given an update on Marcus Smith’s injured calf and his situation is not looking good as there are fears that the injury might rule him out of the entire Six Nations.

The 24-year-old playmaker’s injury, which he sustained at the team’s training camp in Girona on Monday, has already ruled him out of at least Saturday’s Six Nations opener against Italy and Wales a week later.

George Ford to start at 10 against Italy

There will be more clarity on Smith‘s condition next week and his absence resulted in experienced fly-half George Ford getting the nod to start in England‘s clash against Italy in Rome with rookie pivot Fin Smith set to make his Test debut off the replacements bench.

The Northampton Saints fly-half is one of five uncapped players in England’s matchday 23 and if all of the Test debutants should take to the field against the Azzurri, it will be the highest number of new caps awarded in a single England Test since Stuart Lancaster’s first game in charge in 2012.

Of the other debutants, Fraser Dingwall (centre) and Ethan Roots (back-row) have been named in the run-on side while Smith, Chandler Cunningham-South (back-row) and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (wing) will start on the bench.

Meanwhile, England were boosted by the news of scrum-half Alex Mitchell’s recovery from a leg wound. Mitchell is set to wear the Red Rose’s number nine jersey against Italy but he will not be joined by Harlequins star Smith, who faces an anxious wait to find out how long he will spending time on the sidelines.

“Marcus will go back to England today (Thursday) and have further investigations later this week. He won’t be available next week,” said England boss Steve Borthwick.

“We’re not sure exactly when. Hopefully he will play in the latter part of the Six Nations, but it will be a number of weeks. We’ll know more next week.”

Mitchell had the inside lane on becoming England’s first-choice scrum-half after the World Cup but his ambitions suffered a setback when he felt unwell due to the infected wound which he took into England’s training camp. That injury prevented him from training fully until Thursday morning.

“Our medical team took great care of him over the weekend and at start of the week to get the infection under control and he looks brilliant,” added Borthwick.

“He played a lot of minutes for us during the World Cup and has played a lot of time for his club, so he is match sharp and ready to go. He looked fantastic in training today (Thursday).”

There are several experienced players in the England camp with likes of Ford, Joe Marler and Maro Itoje all named in the starting line-up and there is plenty of excitement about the inclusion of the five debutants even though some of those selections were forced on Borthwick.

Dingwall lines up at inside centre after being named in nine previous England squads without making an appearance. He now receives the opportunity to prove he is the solution to the Red Rose’s problem position.

Despite not having the raw power of injured duo Manu Tuilagi and Ollie Lawrence, Dingwall is an exciting prospect who is comfortable at 12 or 13.

Meanwhile, former Maori All Blacks representative Roots qualifies for England through his father and has impressed since leaving New Zealand in 2021, during stints at the Ospreys and now Exeter.

Borthwick backing his inexperienced players

Borthwick is confident in Dingwall and Roots’ ability and is also backing Fin Smith, Cunningham-South and Feyi-Waboso to do well if they take to the field later on in Rome.

“Each one of those guys has earned his place in the matchday 23. Each one of them is an exciting young player,” he said.

“I didn’t think I’d be naming a 23 with five debutants. I’ve asked when the last time was England named a 23 with five new caps in it!”

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