Yates in clear after his trial
another full session tomorrow before he is given the green light.
Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall said: “We expect him to be available – we’ve just got to be sensible. He’ll train on Thursday and hopefully be OK.”
Willis, 21, was taken off after 38 minutes of that semi-final with severe ligament damage including a ruptured ACL in his right knee.
He had been named in England’s squad to tour South Africa but faces between nine and 12 months out, leaving him short of time to make next year’s World Cup. SIMON YATES took another huge step towards winning the Giro d’Italia after coming through the stage-16 time trial with a 56-second overall lead.
The Australian Rohan Dennis, of BMC Racing, took a blistering victory over the 34.2km course from Trento to Rovereto yesterday but it was British rider Yates who deserved all the plaudits for another gutsy ride.
Team Sunweb’s Tom Dumoulin, the world time trial champion, was expected to take a huge chunk out of Yates’s lead but the Dutchman finished 22 seconds adrift of Dennis in third spot as his hopes of retaining the title took a hit.
Mitchelton Scott rider Yates, who had started the day 2mins 11secs ahead of Dumoulin, was delighted to have held on to the pink jersey.
“I’m really happy with the gap on the chasing pack,” said Yates, who finished 22nd in the stage.
“In the first half I had a good rhythm, I wasn’t losing so much time and really trying to hold my position.
“The final 10k, I really died a thousand deaths and thought I’d lose a lot more time, but I didn’t. It really changes my tactics for the coming days.
“I think unfortunately for the fans I can be a lot more defensive. It’s a good gap.”
Four-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome put in a solid ride to finish the stage fifth and move back up to fourth overall, 3 mins 50 secs behind Yates.