England assistant coach Kevin Sinfield: “Marcus Smith will unfortunately be out this weekend with a calf injury. He has submitted the scan report but we don’t know exactly what that means for us going forward. We’re waiting for him to understand. He’s not suitable for this weekend. We’re waiting for a second opinion.”
Tuesday 30 January 2024, UK, 17:30
Marcus Smith has been ruled out of the Six Nations opener against Italy in Rome due to a calf injury.
Smith left England’s training base in Girona on crutches on Monday, leaving George Ford and the uncapped Finn Smith as fly-half options, with former captain Owen Farrell absent.
“he [Marcus Smith] Sadly he won’t be able to make it this weekend,” England assistant coach Kevin Sinfield told the media on Tuesday.
“It’s a calf injury. The scan report has been submitted but we’re waiting to find out exactly what it means for us going forward.”
“He is not fit for this weekend. At the moment we are waiting for a second opinion on scans and we will know more then.”
England begin their Championship campaign against Italy at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday (kick-off 2:15pm AEST).
Smith is the latest injury to hit Steve Borthwick’s England camp. They are already without centers Ollie Lawrence and Manu Tuilagi, back-rower Tom Curry, loosehead Bevan Rodd, lock George Martin, hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie and winger Anthony Watson. .
”[Marcus is] “It’s a huge loss,” Sinfield added, “He’s a great guy, I love working with him and we have a really good connection.
“But it’s about giving other people a chance. I’ve said since I’ve been working in England that we’re blessed with 10 points. Finn Smith has been in camp before. But his form has been outstanding at Northampton and he has had some great training.
“Without giving away too much, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what that does to us. We have Finn and George.” [Ford] He has won 91 caps and I think he has that experience and a young cannon who is in top form. We are still in a very good position. ”
England head coach Steve Borthwick has admitted his team needs to adopt a “different mindset” ahead of the Six Nations.
Sinfield, who was changed from defense coach to skills/kicking coach for England after announcing his resignation at the end of the season, admitted the injury occurred early in training.
“It was during training, early in the session. It was just one thing,” Sinfield said.
“The players had two days off to recover and Marcus was doing what he had to do with all his energy. Unfortunately, these things happen. We feel bad for him because he was great doing that. We hope it won’t be too long.”
“I’m not sure about the logistics. I think some of it will depend on a second opinion. It would be great if we could keep him with us.”
“I think for all the 9-year-olds, 10-year-olds, the more time they spend together, the more friendships and relationships are built. That’s really important off the field as well as on the field. If he stays, It would be great if you could do that.”
Get Sky Sports on WhatsApp!
You can now start receiving messages and alerts for the latest sports news, analysis, in-depth features and videos from our dedicated WhatsApp channel.
Click here for details…