Itoje sidelined until the new year

Maro Itoje will only return to action in the new year, with Saracens confirming the lock is still recovering from a knee injury sustained during the November internationals.

Itoje has been sidelined since England’s victory over Argentina at the end of November and was initially expected to feature for Saracens before the end of the year. However, that timeline has now been pushed back, with the club taking a cautious approach to his recovery.

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“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 Saracens director of rugby Mark 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.”

The 31-year-old has not required surgery, but the extended lay-off follows an intense run of international rugby, having captained the British and Irish Lions on their tour to Australia earlier this year.

That workload also meant Itoje started the Premiership season late, missing Saracens’ opening three league fixtures. His next appearance is now most likely to come against Leicester Tigers on January 4, or in Saracens’ Investec Champions Cup clash against Toulouse the following week.

While Itoje’s absence remains a blow, Saracens have received a timely boost ahead of Saturday’s Premiership encounter with Exeter Chiefs.

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England hooker Jamie George is set to return after recovering from a hamstring injury suffered against New Zealand last month.

“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 after his citing for a dangerous tackle against the Sharks was dismissed.

An independent disciplinary committee ruled 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,” McCall added.

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