England scrum-half Alex Mitchell stood down with immediate effect

Saints are currently top of the table and look set to secure a home semi-final in the play-offs, but they will be without Mitchell for the remainder of the campaign.

The Times have reported that Mitchell picked up the latest injury during England’s alignment camp last week, prompting questions over whether it was the right decision for Steve Borthwick to hold the camp at such a crucial stage of the season.

Mitchell suffered the injury during a team training session. Meanwhile, Tom Curry experienced symptoms of concussion and returned to Sale Sharks for monitoring.

One positive for Northampton is the form of 21-year-old Archie McParland, who has impressed this season after stepping in following Mitchell’s previous hamstring injury during the Six Nations defeat to Ireland.

It remains unclear whether the extent of Mitchell’s injury will rule the 29-year-old out of England’s Nations Championship Tests in July.

England face South Africa on July 4 before taking on Fiji and Argentina on the following two Saturdays, giving Mitchell around a month to recover.

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Mitchell carried a heavy workload during the 2024-25 season, featuring in every British & Irish Lions match-day squad on their tour of Australia.

In total, Mitchell played 31 matches last year, exceeding the recommended seasonal limit of 30 matches for Prem players.

Borthwick selected five scrum-halves in his most recent England squad, including Mitchell and McParland, alongside Bath’s Ben Spencer, who missed most of training with a shoulder problem, Saracens’ Charlie Bracken and Leicester Tigers’ Jack van Poortvliet.