Billy Vunipola, the Saracens star, will be absent from England’s trio of autumn internationals after being sidelined for four months with a knee cartilage injury.
The 24-year-old loose forward limped out of his side’s 41-13 Premiership win over Sale on Saturday and went under the surgeon’s knife yesterday.
Vunipola now faces a lengthy period undergoing rehabilitation and won’t be seen until the start of next year at the earliest. If all goes well he’ll be available for England’s defence of their Six Nations title but he won’t feature in the autumn Tests against Argentina, Australia and Samoa.
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“For any team to lose a player of the ability of Billy is a blow and he will be missed through the autumn for both Saracens and England,” says Mark McCall, the Saracens director of rugby.
“It’s desperately disappointing for him, considering how hard he has worked during the off-season to get back to full fitness, but Billy is a resilient character and he’ll have a strong support network around him to get him back on the field in the best possible shape.”
Vunipola withdrew from the Lions summer tour to New Zealand with a shoulder injury, only returning to action last weekend. He was also absent for a large chunk of last season with an injury to the same right knee.
Speaking to The Times recently, the No. 8 expressed his concern about plans to extend the season, warning of possible strike action if more consideration isn’t given to player welfare.
“It’s not about money, it’s about the toil we’re put through,” he said. “I feel like something needs to happen for the suits [governing body] to realise these guys are serious. It comes down to how much we play. My body could not handle it. I might think I’m strong and tough but I’m not.”
In all, Vunipola has started just one of England’s last seven internationals. The concern for head coach Eddie Jones is that the Saracens No. 8 is showing the same susceptibility to injury as another of his key men, Leicester centre Manu Tuilagi.
The 26-year-old England centre has been plagued by a succession of injuries over the past two years. He spent nine months of last season on the sidelines with a knee injury and suffered a knock to the other leg during his first game back this month.
Tuilagi is also ruled out of the November Test matches. Jones can ill afford to lose another of his influential players.
The head coach has called up Jack Clifford of Harlequins to replace Vunipola in his training squad but Clifford lacks the Saracen man’s power and ball-carrying ability.
His absence is also a big blow to Saracens, who start the defence of their European title next month, with the London club looking to become only the second team in Champions Cup history to win three successive European crowns.
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