Injuries mount ahead of Autumn schedule

BEN Te’o looks set to miss the Autumn internationals with an ankle injury.

The Worcester Warriors centre sustained the injury during the Challenge Cup win over Brive.Warriors coach Carl Hogg revealed that Te’o had sustained a high ankle sprain early on during the European Challenge Cup win over Brive.

The 30-year-old is now expected to need “at least a month” of rehabilitation and will likely miss England’s campaign against Argentina, Australia and Samoa which begins on November 11.

“Ben’s unfortunately got a syndesmosis injury of his ankle. He’s being assessed currently and will head back down to Cardiff on Monday to see whether he’ll go down a surgical route or whether it’ll be managed conservatively,” Hogg said.

“He’s expected to be out for at least a month, but we’ll find out more next week once the swelling has settled down and it’ll give us a better idea of timeframes.”

Scotland skipper Greig Laidlaw will definitely miss the autumn Tests after fracturing his ankle on duty during Clermont Auvergne’s win over Ospreys last Sunday.

Although he does not require surgery, Laidlaw has been told he faces ten to 12 weeks out of action meaning he will play no part as Gregor Townsend’s Scots host Samoa, New Zealand and Australia at Murrayfield next month.

Scotland hooker Fraser Brown will also miss the internationals after being ruled out for up to eight weeks with a knee injury sustained against Exeter.

Wales will be without George North for the entire autumn series with a knee injury picked up in Northampton’s Champions Cup defeat by Saracens on Sunday.

North has been ruled out for a minimum of six weeks, preventing him from featuring in the fixtures against Australia, Georgia, New Zealand and South Africa that begin at the Principality Stadium on November 11.

“George North suffered a sprain to his posterior cruciate ligament which will require 6-8 weeks rehabilitation,” a Northampton statement said.