Saturday 22 October 2016 23:48, UK
England have an injury concern over key forward Maro Itoje after he was hurt while playing for Saracens on Saturday.
Itoje suffered a hand injury during the European Champions Cup clash with Scarlets on Saturday, a game the Aviva Premiership champions won 44-26 at Allianz Park.
The 21-year-old was replaced in the 46th minute and will undergo a scan to determine the severity of any problem.
England will hope Itoje has avoided any serious damage to his hand, with their Old Mutual Wealth Series starting against South Africa on November 12 at Twickenham.
"Maro came off with a sore hand. That needs to be examined and we'll know more after the x-ray has taken place," Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall said.
England's squad has already been hit by injuries with flanker James Haskell definitely missing for the entire autumn campaign and potential replacements Sam Jones, Mike Williams and Jack Clifford also sidelined.
Itoje's team-mate, both club and internationally, George Kruis had surgery on an ankle problem on Friday but McCall said there is a chance he could play towards the end of England's autumn matches, the last of which is against Australia on December 3.
"George complained about his ankle not feeling great in the week. We had it scanned and there were a couple of loose bodies," McCall added.
"It's a very minor thing, it's just not great timing for anybody. It will be a four to eight week injury. If he plays in the autumn, it all depends if it's good or bad.
"We think the operation went okay and now it all depends on the healing process."
