England assistant coach Kevin Sinfield: “Marcus Smith won’t make this weekend sadly. It is a calf injury. We got the scan report through but are waiting to understand exactly what that means for us moving forward. He’s not fit for this weekend. We’re waiting for a second opinion”.
Marcus Smith has been ruled out of England’s opener Six Nations against Italy in Rome due to a calf injury.
Smith departed England’s training base in Girona on crutches on Monday, leaving George Ford and the uncapped Fin Smith as fly-half options, with previous captain Owen Farrell having made himself unavailable.
“He [Marcus Smith] won’t make this weekend sadly,” England assistant coach Kevin Sinfield told media on Tuesday.
“It is a calf injury. We got the scan report through but we are waiting to understand exactly what that means for us moving forward. He’s not fit for this weekend. At the minute, we’re waiting for a second opinion on the scan. We will know more then.”
England begin their championship campaign against Italy at Stadio Olimpico on Saturday (2.15pm kick-off GMT).