Statement: Saracens issue injury update as captain Maro Itoje ruled out

However, the England lock's condition has been described as minor, easing concerns over his fitness.

Itoje picked up the knock during Saracens' 45-26 victory over Sale Sharks on Saturday. The influential forward was forced off just one minute into the second half, raising alarm bells for both club and country.

Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall reassured fans about Itoje's condition:
“He won't be available for this weekend, he got a bang to the knee,” McCall confirmed. "There’s nothing structural at all, so it’s as minor as it gets really. A little bit of bruising, and he’s just settling that down."

Although Itoje will miss the Exeter game, McCall is optimistic about his swift return:
"It's good. Just a bang and a bit of swelling, which will come down. We expect to have him available for the week after."

The 28-year-old was forced off in the 45th minute, despite scoring the team’s opening try earlier in the match.

Adding to Bath's injury concerns, winger Joe Cokanasiga will miss the upcoming West Country derby against Bristol. The 26-year-old failed a head injury assessment (HIA) following the win over Leicester and is ruled out due to concussion.

Bath’s head of rugby, Johann van Graan, confirmed Muir's injury and suggested his availability for England’s Autumn internationals is uncertain.

“Will will be out for around six weeks with his knee, that rules him out of this block," van Graan said. "Maybe he's available for England and maybe he's not. Right now, it’s about getting him back as quickly as possible."

With Regan Grace also out injured, Bath now find themselves without three wingers. However, van Graan emphasized the importance of adaptability within the squad.

“You've got to be able to adapt, and it’s about the next player stepping up. Will Butt, for example, has been one of the standout players in the Premiership after the first two rounds," he added.

Ford, who underwent a scan on Monday, had initially been feared to face a lengthy spell on the sidelines following the 45-26 loss.

However, the scan revealed no need for surgery, offering a significant boost to both Sale Sharks and England head coach Steve Borthwick ahead of the autumn campaign.

“Sale Sharks can confirm that fly-half George Ford suffered a tear to his right quad during the early stages of the Gallagher Premiership round two game at Saracens on Saturday,” Sale said in a statement on Thursday night.

“Following a positive consultation with a specialist it was decided that George does not require surgery and he will now beg

The contention for places within the England squad remains amongst the upper echelons, with established Test match players battling for the starting jersey with the new generation. Now that the Gallagher Premiership is back in full flight, Borthwick will be scanning the squads across the country to ensure that he has the best possible match day 23 for when the All Blacks descend on Twickenham.

As with any predictions piece, the unpredictability of professional rugby injuries throws quite the spanner into the best laid plans. Just this past week, both George Ford and Maro Itoje were taken off the Saracens vs Sale Sharks battlefield with injuries, with Ford looking likely to miss more action that the stalwart England lock.

With that said, we dusted off the proverbial crystal ball for a look into the future and here is what we found. These are Ruck's predictions for Steve Borthwick's England squad, to face New Zealand in the opening match of the 2024 Autumn Series.

BACK THREE

We commence the match day 23 with the outside backs, and we can't see Steve Borthwick making any changes to his trio that took on the All Blacks in Dunedin back in July. Beginning with newly coronated Northampton Saints club captain George Furbank, the fullback missed out on the second Test at Auckland's Eden Park, after suffering a back injury after a heavy coming together with New Zealand wing Sevu Reece.

Furbank was replaced by Leicester Tigers fullback Freddie Steward for the second Test, yet the Northampton man has been in impressive upon the return of the green, black and golds in recent weeks. Whilst Furbank may be a step away from the grade compared to Steward's dominance under the high ball, the Saint's versatility is what he really brings to the table, proving himself indispensable to Borthwick as Swiss army knife of covering options.

Tommy Freeman is our pick to resume ownership of the 11 jersey, with the Northampton flyer running out for his first full 80 minutes of the season, against Exeter this past Saturday. Freeman was amongst the England players that had a staggered re-introduction to their clubs, after the announcement of the Professional Group Partnership in September.

Freeman silenced the All Blacks fans with his try at Eden Park in July, and would want nothing more than to emulate this with a try-scoring roar from the Twickenham faithful this coming November. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso certainly left his mark in an England shirt this past Summer, as the Exeter Chiefs wing scored three tries on the tour, crossing over in each match against Japan and New Zealand.

Feyi-Waboso ensured that he left New Zealand with the All Blacks remembering his name, after Sevu Reece admitted to not knowing who the Exeter Chiefs man was ahead of the opening Test in the Forsyth Barr Stadium. Feyi-Waboso scored a brace of tries in the Chiefs defeat to Northampton this past weekend, as the wing is back firing at his best ahead of a return call to the England squad.

Onto the midfielders, and there is some contention for places if Exeter Chiefs centre Henry Slade does not return in time from injury. Currently, Slade is in the midst of a lengthy road to recovery, after the Chiefs man underwent shoulder surgery following the England tour last Summer. Slade had initially injured his shoulder in a tackle attempt on Duhan van der Merwe, when the powerhouse wing scored his stunning solo try in Scotland's Six Nations win against England at Murrayfield last February.

However, Slade was able to keep the injury maintained throughout the rest of the 2023/24 season, and was a key player in many of Exeter's and England's highlights. If the Devon native is unable to return to the England squad in time for the All Blacks test, then we predict Fraser Dingwall to get the nod to take up the 13 jersey. With Manu Tuilagi now ineligible for England, following his move to French club Bayonne, Dingwall could step into the outside centre slot, where he starred for the Saints last season in their Premiership title winning campaign.

Dingwall brings the added versatility to the midfield, with the prior capabilities of running out in both the inside and outside centre channels. Also bringing extra flexibility into the centre options is Bath's Ollie Lawrence, who plays for the blue, black and whites at 13, yet has been recently utilised by Borthwick in the 12 shirt. Lawrence was England's go to man in the inside centre for both the 2024 Six Nations and the latest Summer tour, and did it all whilst alternating back to outside centre in Bath's run to the Premiership Final.

Lawrence's Bath midfield partner Max Ojomah is a considerable shout for an England debut this Autumn, with the midfielder called into Borthwick's wider training squad, that jetted out to Spain for a pre 2024 Six Nations camp. Ojomah is currently on the mend after sustaining a foot injury, so time will tell if he is fit for the senior England squad, or perhaps a run in the England A set-up, who return to face Australia A at the Stoop in November.

The aforementioned injury scare to George Ford has thrown a curveball into Steve Borthwick's plans, with the Sale Sharks man removed after just four minutes in last weekend's defeat to Saracens. Ford pulled up with a quad injury after taking a long range shot at the posts, in what was worrying signs at the StoneX in the run up to the Autumn Internationals.

In Ford's absence, the fly half baton once again rests with Marcus Smith, who led the line for England at 10 in the Summer tour of Japan and New Zealand. Smith was excellent against Eddie Jones' Brave Blossoms, as he scored a try and grabbed two assists in the emphatic 52-17 win out in the Far East. Smith's kicking performance in the first Test against the All Blacks, mirrored that of Jonny Wilkinson's shortcomings at the 2011 Rugby World Cup. The halfback left eight crucial points on the pitch, for an All Blacks win in Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium.

Smith is now back flying in the famous Harlequins quarters, and enjoyed a solid first start last weekend as the Londoners despatched Newcastle Falcons for a 28-14 win. There could well be an alteration to Smith's halfback partner, as Alex Mitchell is currently undergoing a scan on a neck injury, that has kept him out of action so far this season. There has not yet been an update from Northampton Saints regarding the duration of Mitchell's absence, but should the Saint not return in time for the All Blacks Test, his opposite man from the Premiership Final would be expected to take his place.

Ben Spencer was arguably in the form of his career, as he guided the blue, black and whites to the Premiership Final this past season. Spencer was appointed the Bath captaincy from Johann van Graan, and has stepped up to the role with great aplomb on the pitch. Spencer began the new Premiership calendar with a try in the win over Northampton, as Bath made amends in a re-match of the previous season finale. Should Spencer step up in Mitchell's absence, we would expect to see Leicester's Jack van Poortvliet take up the 21 jersey.

Moving on to the front row, and Bristol Bears loose-head Ellis Genge will be chomping at the bit for a return to the Test match stage. Genge missed out on the Summer tour to Japan and New Zealand, as he sustained the most untimely calf injury. Genge was firmly in the plans for the Summer expedition, but picked up the injury in Bristol's last match of the Premiership season to fall agonisingly close at the final hurdle.

Also, Joe Marler will be unlikely to return in time for the Autumn Series, after the Harlequin broke his foot in the first New Zealand Test last Summer. Fin Baxter also impressed upon his England debut and subsequent first start, but we give the nod to Genge, who was a stand out feature of the recent West Country derby between Bristol and Gloucester.

The 'Baby Rhino' locked horns with highly rated tight-head prospect Afolabi Fasogbon, with the two sharing a nice post match show of respect. Fasogbon could well be on his way to the England squad, with a call-up for at least the England A squad expected to be in 20-year-old's future.

The England captain needs no introduction, with Jamie George set to continue his command of Steve Borthwick's side into this Autumn. Appointed to the role following the standing down of Owen Farrell, George has risen to the occasion and relished in every opportunity to take up the armband for the national side. George has been guiding his Saracens understudy Theo Dan into the Test match landscape, with the 23-year-old hooker predicted to maintain his control of the England 16 jersey, for another explosive replacement appearence against the All Blacks.

The tight-head option is were things get interesting for England's front row. With the likes of Gloucester's Afo Fasogbon, Bath's Billy Sela and Sale's Asher Opoku-Fordjour proving that if you're good enough you're old enough. We could well see the dawning of a new era in the England three jersey this Autumn, with Dan Cole's England future as yet unconfirmed. As the Leicester Tigers prop is said to be taking things "day by day" with Steve Borthwick, the recent England U20s stars could well be the answer for the three shirt this Autumn.

However, Bath prop Will Stuart would likely have something to say about that, with the 28-year-old not willing to relent the three shirt to someone eight years his junior. Stuart started at tight-head for England's two Summer Tests against New Zealand, and given his recent experience in taking on the All Blacks, we can see Borthwick taking the safe bet on Stuart to pack down against Ethan de Groot and Tyrel Lomax this November.

It was an interesting set of events at the StoneX, as Saracens withdrew Maro Itoje from the pitch just one minute into the second half. Itoje jogged off under his own weight, with Mark McCall sighting a "grumbly knee" as the cause of the lock's departure. Itoje is as yet unconfirmed to play for Saracens this weekend, but the North Londoners are confident that the second row will be back in action relatively soon.

England fans can breathe a sigh of relief, as Itoje has long been a stand out stalwart of Steve Borthwick's side. Given the added responsibilities of Saracens club captain, after Owen Farrell's move to Racing 92, Itoje has grown into a real leader of men, and was identified as England's best player on tour by the All Black coaches, as well as legendary former lock Ian Jones.

We can see George Martin continue on with Itoje in their second row partnership, as the Leicester man stood out on tour in the absence of Ollie Chessum. Martin has seemingly surpassed his Tigers teammate to the starting five jersey, with his specialist skill amongst the worst kept secrets in professional rugby. Martin is a certified missile in defence, as he flies out of the line and makes clattering chop tackles.

Martin starred for England as they utilised Felix Jones' blitz defence, and it remains to be seen whether England will continue on with the high press now Oyonnax head coach Joe El-Abd has been appointed to the Irishman's vacancy. El-Abd may well introduce his own brand of defence to the England set-up, that could benefit Chessum or Northampton's Alex Coles better than the high octane Martin, with all answers set to be revealed this Autumn.

Rounding off the starting XV for England's Autumn Test against the All Blacks, and we can see Chandler Cunningham-South given the go ahead for the six jersey. The Harlequin was impressive upon the recent tour of his former country, as Cunningham-South battled hard in Auckland's Eden Park, just a few miles down the road from his old family home. We predict the 21-year-old starting, given the recent injury update to Bath's Sam Underhill.

Underhill had minor ankle surgery after the Summer Tour, and has not yet featured for the blue, black and whites so far in the Premiership. Granted, Underhill's customary ability to bounce back from the hardest of knocks could see him return in time for the All Blacks Test, which again will only be revealed in time.

Tom Curry started for Sale Sharks in their opening match of the season, as he ran out on the flank in his side's win against Harlequins. However, the 26-year-old was knocked unconscious in the seventh minute of the match, and failed an assessment at half-time, despite initially returning to the pitch after the HIA. It is no secret that Tom Curry has endured some serious spells on the sidelines, with a potentially career ending hip injury being his latest obstacle to overcome. Here's hoping the back row gets the rest he needs, and can return to England duties this November.

And of course, at the number eight spot we have gone for Ben Earl, with the Saracens back row eyeing up another crack at Ardie Savea. Earl and Savea were not shy of complementing one another in the pre-match media sessions out in New Zealand, with a mutual level of respect established between two of the world's very best back rows. Earl is out to continue his mission of becoming the world's best in his position, and he would certainly stake a claim to the title by getting the upper hand on the 2023 World Rugby Men's Player of the Year in the Autumn Series opener.

There is a debutant amongst the ranks for our predicted England squad to face the All Blacks, with Guy Pepper continuing to go from strength to strength in the Premiership. The former Newcastle Falcons man has made a new home in Somerset upon his move to Bath, and has had an immediate impact upon the blue, black and white back row.