Foot injury puts England’s Cadan Murley in doubt for French test
Cadan Murley is a major doubt for England’s Six Nations match with France on Saturday after picking up a foot injury in last weekend’s defeat by Ireland.
The Harlequins winger made his debut in the 27-22 loss and endured a mixed afternoon, scoring the opening try before making some costly errors near his own line under fierce Ireland pressure. On two occasions he tried to carry the ball out from England’s in-goal area, handing Ireland try-scoring opportunities.
Murley did not take part in England’s training session at their Bagshot base on Monday and he is said to be struggling for Le Crunch. In his likely absence, Ollie Sleightholme, Tom Roebuck and Elliot Daly could all come into the side while Freddie Steward could also shift to the wing. In the event of the latter, Marcus Smith may come under consideration for a move to fullback.
Elsewhere, the former captain Jamie George is set the return to the matchday squad after being
. The 34-year-old missed England’s training camp in Girona in the buildup to their Dublin defeat with a hamstring injury and was expected to miss the first two matches. He was summoned back into camp on Sunday night, however, and after taking part in Monday’s session he is expected to feature against France.Tom Curry, who scored England’s second try on Saturday, underwent a modified training session but he is fully expected to be fine to face France. Given his all-action performance in Dublin and his recent injury problems, his training load is being managed but England have no concerns over his availability.