Jonathan Joseph has a chest injury and is a doubt for England’s Rugby World Cup match against Wales on Saturday. The England backs coach, Andy Farrell, says a decision on the centre’s fitness will be made on Wednesday.
Farrell, speaking at an England press conference at the team’s base in Surrey, said: “At the start of every Test week we have bumps and bruises. JJ has a bit of a knock. It’s nothing too serious and our medical staff are working hard to get him fit and in and England shirt this weekend.
“It’s something and nothing. He has got a knock on his chest. If he is fit for this weekend, we will know by tomorrow. If he is not fit it will not be more than a week anyway probably. ”
Farrell also revealed that the No8 Ben Morgan has a bang on a knee but stressed that the injury is not serious. Morgan did not train with England on Monday as the team prepare for the Pool A encounter at Twickenham.
He said: “Ben has a little bang on his knee that isn’t serious at all. There are still a couple more knocks, people who are not serious. We’ll leave them unnamed. Some guys will train today, some guys won’t train today. We’ll see what happens over the course of today. We don’t need to rush.”
If Joseph is ruled out by injury it would be a big blow for England’s head coach Stuart Lancaster as the Bath centre is a potential matchwinner.
However Lancaster has several options to replace him, with Henry Slade and Sam Burgess the other specialist centres in his squad while the fly-half Owen Farrell also has experience in the position. In training on Monday a trio of Farrell, Brad Barritt and Burgess was fielded.
If Morgan is ruled out, Lancaster would face a simpler choice with Billy Vunipola starting at No8 and James Haskell elevated to the bench.
Farrell added: “We know what’s coming. We know the game we want to play and impose ourselves. We don’t want to just stop Wales playing but impose our own game. The Welsh have got a great squad.”
Of England’s replacements, who changed the game in the tournament opener against Fiji, Farrell said: “Whatever bench we pick this week we’ll have an impact again. We always want to get to a situation where everyone is fully fit and when we have a 31-man squad it’s not just about the 15 any more. The bench is important for any team.”
