Launchbury seen training on his own in Durban

According to Gavin Mairs of the Telegraph, England lock Joe Launchbury is currently struggling with a calf injury and may be a doubt to take on South Africa in the first Test of the summer series in Johannesburg on Saturday.

Launchbury was reportedly training on his own during a session today in Durban, with the Wasps man going through stretching exercises whilst the rest of the team trained as normal.

With both George Kruis and Courtney Lawes injured and unavailable for the tour, England opted to take just four second-rows to South Africa and an injury to Launchbury would open the door for either Nick Isiekwe or Jonny Hill to start alongside Maro Itoje on Saturday.

The extent of Launchbury’s injury is not yet known but RugbyPass sources have confirmed that he was suffering from calf problems before England flew out to South Africa and did have a scan on it during preparation for the tour.

Both Isiekwe and Hill enjoyed strong 2017/18 campaigns with Saracens and Exeter Chiefs respectively and would be ready to fill the void, but this could have knock-on implications on England’s back-row, where Isiekwe was also being tipped to make an impact.

Per the report in the Telegraph, England will have two more training sessions in Durban before they fly out to Johannesburg on Thursday, meaning Launchbury’s time to prove his fitness is beginning to run out.

The lock would provide valuable experience in the England side, who are already without veterans such as Dan Cole, Dylan Hartley and Lawes in the pack, so Eddie Jones will be eager to give him as much time as possible to recover from the injury ahead of the game.