Courtney Lawes will have an operation on Monday on a chipped ankle bone that will rule him out of at least the first two rounds of the Six Nations and leave the England head coach, Stuart Lancaster, without his leading two second-row forwards as Joe Launchbury targets April as the date of his return from neck surgery.
Lawes has not played since Northampton’s Premiership victory over Leicester at Franklin’s Gardens last month. The Saints have said for the last two weeks that he was very close to a return, even last Thursday stating that they hoped he would be fit for Sunday’s European Champions Cup match against Ospreys in Swansea.
Immediately after the 20-9 victory Northampton’s director of rugby, Jim Mallinder, said that not only would the 25-year-old, who has won 36 caps, miss Saturday’s Champions Cup group decider against Racing Métro at Franklin’s Gardens but the lock would miss at least the opening two matches in the Six Nations, against Wales in Cardiff and Italy at Twickenham.
“Courtney failed to recover from the ankle injury and he will have an operation on Monday,” said Mallinder. “The bone needs to be cleaned out and he will miss the first few rounds of the Six Nations. A piece of bone chipped off during the Leicester game and his loss is a blow for us, for Courtney and for England. He is a key player.” Asked whether there was a danger that Lawes, like Launchbury, could miss the entire championship campaign, Mallinder replied: “We expect him to return to action while the Six Nations is still going on.”
Lancaster names his England squad on Wednesday. Lawes is highly likely to be named given the stated short-term nature of his injury but Geoff Parling, who missed the November internationals because he was resting under the concussion protocol, is the likely beneficiary in Cardiff, partnering Dave Attwood with George Kruis, who returns from suspension three days before the match against Wales, on the bench. The loss of Lawes is a blow for Lancaster and not just because it means the loss of both his first-choice second-rows. The Northampton forward last season became England’s lineout caller and the extra responsibility helped a player who had developed a reputation for at times becoming distracted mature into a consistent and reliable member of the leadership group.
Lancaster was hit hard by injury problems in the first five last November. While they have not eased in the second row, Alex Corbisiero and Tom Youngs are available in the front row and Dylan Hartley came through his return from suspension at Ospreys without even a glance from the match referee. The tighthead prop Dan Cole remains a doubt because of a calf strain while his Leicester colleague, Manu Tuilagi, has not played since October when he aggravated a calf injury. Lawes, though, as England look to make a strong start on a ground where they came a distant second after being outmuscled two years ago does not make for a happy start to the new year.
