ENGLAND hooker Jamie George will miss the remainder of the RBS Six Nations and may struggle to be ready in time for the summer tour to Australia.
George ruptured a biceps tendon during training on Tuesday afternoon and a scan has revealed he will be sidelined for eight to 10 weeks, ruling him out of this weekend's likely title decider against Wales and the clash with France one week later.
Luke Cowan-Dickie of Exeter will supply cover for captain Dylan Hartley from the bench as George begins a lengthy spell of rehabilitation that could prevent him from playing again this season. If the worst-case scenario unfolds, the earliest he could return for Saracens would be the Aviva Premiership semi-final on May 22 and England depart for Australia three days after the final, which is being staged at Twickenham the following weekend.
"Jamie hurt his biceps in training and had a scan. It's a ruptured tendon and it looks like he'll be out for eight to 10 weeks," forwards coach Steve Borthwick said.
"On the video of the training session, I watched the incident and it looked very innocuous. It was an arm out during a tackle and that was it. He carried on training and didn't think much of it, but then realised it was worse than he thought and saw the doctor."
Cowan-Dickie won his solitary cap against France in the build-up to last autumn's World Cup and is set to play only a minor supporting role at Twickenham on Saturday, unless Hartley is struck by injury early in the match.
Hartley is Eddie Jones' skipper for the Six Nations, his set-piece expertise is crucial to England's game and he has improved with each match of the Championship. Cowan-Dickie's season at Exeter has been interrupted by a broken thumb which has now healed and Borthwick expects the 22-year-old rookie to thrive if summoned from the bench.
"I watched Luke play for Exeter and since he's come into camp he's been very impressive. I've got know him well and he's done well," Borthwick said.
"He's a really tough, physical player. He's a very strong ball carrier and is very competitive. He's done really well in training. There are no concerns over his inexperience coming into a game like this. These are all big games. Every England match is important."
Borthwick confirmed that second row Joe Launchbury trained fully on Tuesday as he continues his comeback from the hamstring injury that forced him to sit out the 21-10 victory over Ireland. Grand Slam-chasing England name their team to face Wales on Thursday morning with Launchbury expected to displace Maro Itoje on to the bench.
The Red Rose will win the title if they topple Wales and Scotland dispatch France at Murrayfield 24 hours later. It would be the first time a team has been crowned Six Nations champions with a round to space.
