Sarries receive festive blow as Maro Itoje is ruled out until the new year

Maro Itoje will be out of action until the New Year with the knee injury he picked up during the autumn internationals.

The England captain, who has been sidelined since the victory over Argentina at the end of November, was expected to be back on the field for Saracens this month.

But Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall has confirmed that while Itoje has not undergone surgery, he will need more time before he returns for the club.

“Maro is still carrying an injury from the autumn so we don’t expect to see him for a while. The time scale is a little bit vague at the moment,” said McCall.

“He’s got a chance of being back for the Leicester Tigers game which is the first week of January maybe. Somewhere around then.”

Itoje, 31, has endured a significant international workload having captained the British and Irish Lions on the tour to Australia in the summer.

That meant he started the season late for Sarries, missing the first three games of the Prem campaign for his club.

This latest extended lay-off means his next appearance is likely to be at the Tigers on January 4 – or against Toulouse in the Champions Cup the following week.

While his continued absence is a blow for Sarries, there is some good news ahead of this weekend’s Prem game against Exeter with England hooker Jamie George set to return.

George damaged his hamstring against New Zealand last month and said he expected to be out for up to six weeks but will be back in four.

“He’s worked really hard to get back and it’s going to be good to have him available again,” said McCall.

Saracens will also have Theo Dan available for the Chiefs game after his citing for a dangerous tackle against Hollywoodbets Sharks last weekend was dismissed.

An independent disciplinary committee found that while Dan had committed an act of foul play it did not meet the red card threshold.

“It was what we expected but we are happy that he’s available,” said McCall.