Van Poortvliet set for ankle surgery after injury against WalesBen Youngs becomes favourite to take England No 9 jersey
England have called up the Northampton scrum-half Alex Mitchell to their World Cup squad after confirming that Jack van Poortvliet will undergo ankle surgery and miss the forthcoming tournament.
Van Poortvliet suffered the injury towards the end of the first half of Saturday’s dramatic victory over Wales and was in obvious pain, receiving lengthy treatment before being helped off the pitch. Steve Borthwick immediately headed pitchside to check on the 22-year-old scrum-half and the head coach’s fears have now been realised.
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