SM
Friday, November 8
Upcoming predictions and previews
Six Nations | Group Stage
Mar 9, 2019 at 4.45pm UK
 
England
57-14
Italy
George (8'), May (15'), Tuilagi (21', 47'), Shields (32', 79'), Kruis (64'), Robson (68')
FT
Allan (12'), Morisi (54')

England sweating on the fitness of Maro Itoje

:Headline: England sweating on the fitness of Maro Itoje: ID:352398: from db_amp
The lock suffered a setback in training.

Maro Itoje is being assessed by medics after the England lock gave Eddie Jones a scare ahead of Saturday's Guinness Six Nations clash with Italy by hobbling out of training.

Itoje was on course to make his comeback from the ligament damage sustained to his right knee against Ireland on February 2 but the setback in training on Tuesday morning has placed that prospect in doubt.

The imposing British and Irish Lion was performing a forwards drill when he appeared to hurt the same joint as he made a side-step and after falling to the floor in obvious pain he limped off.

Maro Itoje went off injured against Ireland (Lorraine O'Sullivan/PA)

The injury was sustained in front of head coach Jones, who was feeding the forwards the ball as they ran towards the posts.

Attack coach Scott Wisemantel insists the injury is not significant and refused to rule the 24-year-old Saracen out of Italy's visit to Twickenham in the penultimate round of the Championship.

"Maro has had a minor tweak and the medical staff are taking a look at it. He's being managed day by day anyway. I don't think it's anything serious," Wisemantel said.

"We've just got to wait and see what the medics say. We'll see how he pulls up tomorrow (Wednesday)."

Itoje was replaced in the first half of England's rout of Ireland in their Six Nations opener and the prognosis for his return from a grade two medial ligament tear was two to four weeks, potentially enabling him to feature against Italy and Scotland.

Courtney Lawes was lost to a calf strain sustained against Wales and England were banking on Itoje being available for Italy, hence the inclusion of only three locks in their 31-man training squad.

Conor O'Shea's Azzurri have lost their last 20 Six Nations matches in a dismal sequence dating back to 2015.

Wisemantel, whose appointment to Jones' management team has coincided with England's flourishing attacking game, views the fixture as the platform for minor experimentation.

“Maro has had a minor tweak and the medical staff are taking a look at it. He's being managed day by day anyway”
- Scott Wisemantel

"It's an opportunity to change a few things, so we'll look to mix it up a little bit," the Australian said.

"But look at the teams who have played Italy – they haven't changed a lot. Scotland, Wales and Ireland have stuck to their structures and we won't go too far away from ours.

"It will be interesting to see what Italy bring, so we've prepared for all sorts of scenarios.

"It's a really exciting prospect because it freshens up the programme and freshens up the players and makes them explore possibilities. It's good."

amp_article__352398 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2019-03-05 15:23:28:
html db last update - 2019-03-05 15:23:28 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html

Click here for more stories about Maro Itoje

Click here for more stories about England

Share this article now:
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .