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England wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso ruled out for entire Six Nations
By PA
England wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso will miss the entire Guinness Six Nations because of the dislocated shoulder sustained on club duty for Exeter last month. Feyi-Waboso is to undergo surgery on the joint damaged against Sale on December 21 that will rule him out for around three months, the PA news agency understands.
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However, a club statement later on Tuesday insisted that the next step for the player was still undecided. “Having suffered a dislocated shoulder against Sale Sharks in a Gallagher Premiership match pre-Christmas, the international winger is discussing recovery options with the England Rugby and Exeter Chiefs medical teams,” read the Chiefs media release.
The 22-year-old is one of England’s most dangerous players with a strike rate of five tries in eight matches and, if fit, would have been an automatic pick for the Six Nations opener against Ireland on February 1.
Apart from the setback to Steve Borthwick’s hopes of overseeing a revival in the championship following a poor autumn, Feyi-Waboso has been denied the most important stage of all to press his claim to British and Irish Lions selection.
Andy Farrell takes the Lions to Australia this summer and the Chiefs finisher was a frontrunner for one of the back three spots because of his impact since making his Test debut in last year’s Six Nations.
He was also forced to sit out the matches against South Africa and Japan in November after being concussed against Australia. His absence stretches England’s back three resources with George Furbank likely to miss the start of the Championship with a broken arm.
Ollie Sleightholme and Tom Roebuck will compete to fill the vacancy on the wing, although the former withdrew ahead of Northampton’s victory over Bath on Sunday. Saints director of rugby Phil Dowson provided a positive update on Sleightholme but said his club would be “very, very conservative” with the player’s hamstring issue.
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“He might train at the back end of the week,” Dowson said ahead of Saturday’s Investec Champions Cup match away to Stade Francais. “To be honest, with his history and how we manage him, I think it will be unlikely he’ll play this weekend.
“He has been scanned, there is not a ton in there from the picture. But obviously the picture only tells half the story, (it is also about) how he’s feeling and all those sorts of bits. The one thing that is not going to happen is that it’s going to be rushed. We will be very, very conservative managing Ollie.”
Borthwick names his squad for the Six Nations next Tuesday with the head coach needing to turn England’s fortunes around as scrutiny on his position grows following a disappointing 2024.
