England fly-half George Ford may be available for the autumn internationals after receiving positive news on a thigh injury sustained in Sale Sharks’ Gallagher Premiership defeat to Saracens.
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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 begin his rehab ahead of a busy period for club and country.”
Doddie Weir names his dream team:
BACK-THREE:
Gavin Hastings (Scotland): “Consistently outstanding for both Scotland and the Lions. Helped me a lot when the game turned professional.”
Tony Stanger (Scotland): “Probably Scotland’s greatest ever finisher. He was key as we won the 1990 Grand Slam.”
Jonah Lomu (New Zealand): “He took the 1995 World Cup by storm. There were plenty of players who were six foot five and nearly nineteen stone, but none I knew who could run the 100m sprint in 11 seconds.”
CENTRE:
Alan Tait (Scotland): “He seemed to have the uncanny ability to always be in the right place at the right time. Then you realised that was because he was pushing opponents into areas where they had no space to work. He was also the tightest man in the world.”
Tana Umaga (New Zealand): “Scored twice against us. Like with Lomu, we really struggled to contain him.”