Ted Hill becomes fifth player injured in England training

Forward Ted Hill has sustained an injury in England camp, becoming the fifth player to do so in recent weeks.

Eddie Jones' men take on Canada tomorrow in Twickenham but the Worcester Warriors captain will have to watch on from the sidelines, after picking up an ankle injury.

Hill is the fifth player to be injured so far in Jones' training camp, a set-up that's been criticised in the past for the number of injuries players sustain in training.

A Worcester Warriors statement on their website says: "Warriors Club Captain Ted Hill has sustained an ankle injury training with England.

"Hill won his second cap as a replacement lock in last Sunday’s victory over USA at Twickenham and was expected to be involved in Saturday’s international against Canada.

"The injury has ruled Hill out of the match. He will remain in camp with England while the medical staff await further assessments to establish the extent of his injury."

Last week defence coach John Mitchell defended the robustness of England training, insisting there is nothing sinister going on even though, prior to Hill's injury, four players have been sidelined with injuries, including a damaged knee MCL, a facial bone fracture, concussion and a calf muscle issue. 

Sean Robinson, Miles Reid, Fraser Dingwall and Sam Underhill all picked injuries in camp, although Underhill did go on to play a part in England's victory over the US Eagles last weekend.

“Unfortunately, they are just part of the game,” said Mitchell. “I don’t think it is new in the game at all.

“You have had other teams, including the Lions, that have lost players in their preparation. The demands of this level of rugby require you to train and stress the players at a level that is equivalent to the game or above the game. It’s part and parcel of the preparation. There has been no madness in any of these injuries, they have just been situations that sometimes happen in contact. You are always going to get muscle or soft tissue injuries as a result of stressing players coming out of an extensive season.”

The men in white are now expected to put a big score on the callow Canadians, who were hockeyed 68 - 12 in the Principality Stadium last Saturday by Wales.

ENGLAND TEAM VS CANADA:

15. Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers, 1 cap)

14. Joe Cokanasiga (Bath Rugby, 10 caps)

13. Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 39 caps)

12. Dan Kelly (Leicester Tigers, uncapped)

11. Adam Radwan (Newcastle Falcons, uncapped)

10. Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 1 cap)

9. Harry Randall (Bristol Bears, 1 cap)

1. Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 29 caps)

2. Jamie Blamire (Newcastle Falcons, 1 cap)

3. Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers, 1 cap)

4. Harry Wells (Leicester Tigers, uncapped)

5. Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby, 22 caps)

6. Lewis Ludlow (C) (Gloucester Rugby, 1 cap)

7. Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, 23 caps)

8. Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins, uncapped)

REPLACEMENTS:

16. Curtis Langdon (Sale Sharks, 1 cap)

17. Beno Obano (Bath Rugby, 2 caps)

18. Paul Hill (Northampton Saints, 5 caps)

19. Callum Chick (Newcastle Falcons, 1 cap)

20. Lewis Ludlam (Northampton Saints, 9 caps)

21. Dan Robson (Wasps, 13 caps)

22. George Furbank (Northampton Saints, 3 caps)

23. Joe Marchant (Harlequins, 5 caps)