England confirm Alex Mitchell replacement after injury

Mitchell suffered the injury during England's commanding 73-8 victory over Fiji at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. The scrum-half came on in the second half to replace Jack van Poortvliet but lasted only nine minutes before pulling up injured and being forced off the field.

It is another frustrating setback for the British & Irish Lions scrum-half, who has already dealt with two separate hamstring injuries this season. One of those kept him out of England's Six Nations campaign, and he will now miss the final fixture of the July tour.

Mitchell's departure left England short at scrum-half after Van Poortvliet had already been replaced, forcing Marcus Smith to move from full-back into the number nine role.

Despite having no previous experience in the position at international level, Smith adjusted well as England crossed for 11 tries in a comprehensive win over Fiji.

With Quirke now joining the squad, England are unlikely to need Smith to provide emergency cover at scrum-half again.

Quirke first joined England's senior setup in September 2021 after being selected by Eddie Jones for a training camp.

He made his Test debut later that year against Australia, becoming England's youngest scrum-half since 2002, before scoring the match-winning try in a 27-26 victory over South Africa.

He was part of the initial training squad for the 2022 Six Nations and earned another call-up in January 2025 following injuries to Mitchell and Jack van Poortvliet.

Although fully fit again, Quirke has also endured injury problems this season, making just ten starts across all competitions.

The 24-year-old will leave Sale Sharks at the end of the campaign, bringing an end to his time at the club where he began his professional career before joining Newcastle Red Bulls.

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