England scrumhalf fears as Youngs out for rest of the season

Ben Youngs faces a race against time to prove his fitness ahead of the Rugby World Cup after Leicester Tigers revealed that the scrumhalf will miss the remainder of the season.

A statement from the club reads:

"Leicester Tigers and England scrum-half Ben Youngs has been ruled out for the remainder of the 2018/19 Gallagher Premiership season with a shoulder injury.

"Youngs suffered the injury during this year's Six Nations and is yet to play for Tigers since returning to the East Midlands after featuring in each of England's fixtures during the 2019 tournament.

"The 29-year-old has had surgery on the shoulder this week and Tigers head coach Geordan Murphy has confirmed he will be unavailable for the remaining five fixtures of the Premiership campaign."

England are now effectively waiting on the Rugby World Cup fitness of their first and second choice scrumhalves.

The news on Youngs comes just weeks after Dan Robson, England's backup scrumhalf faced his own health concerns. Robson suffered blood clotting which has effectively ended his season.

Robson said at the time: "Obviously pretty devastated by my recent news but I know I am in the best hands to get back to full health and back on the pitch as soon as I can.

“Appreciate all the support from everyone and a special out to the medical staff that have aided me especially in locating the issue and acting so promptly.”