Owen Farrell close to returning for Saracens after four-month injury lay-off | Rugby Union News

Owen Farrell is hoping to return to Gallagher Premiership action on Saturday, after a lengthy ankle injury has seen him on the sidelines since November; Saracens Director of Rugby has hailed Farrell as a “force of nature” on both the club and international stage

Owen Farrell (right) was replaced by Marcus Smith at fly-half for England during the Six Nations

Owen Farrell could return to action for Saracens this Saturday after being out of action since November with an ankle injury sustained on England duty.

The Saracens and England captain suffered injury in a 32-15 victory over Australia last year, and then hurt his other ankle while training for his club in January, leading to him undergoing surgery.

As top of the table Saracens prepare to face Bristol in Saturday’s Gallagher Premiership match, Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall confirmed the No 10 is nearing full fitness.

He said: “Owen (Farrell) has been training over the last couple of weeks and fingers crossed he will be available for selection again on Saturday.

“He’s been in team training seasons for about two weeks. We’ll assess him tomorrow and Friday and make sure everything is OK.

“He’s the captain of the club and he’s obviously a great player, everybody knows that and for him personally it’s great as well.

“He loves playing rugby and he hasn’t played much. If he does play, he’s certainly looking forward to it. We’re chuffed to have him back.”

Farrell’s lengthy stint on the sidelines meant he had to miss the Guinness Six Nations, in which England finished third, with grand slam winners France finishing the tournament victorious.

Smith trained alongside Farrell during the Lions tour of South Africa in the summer

Harlequins fly-half Marcus Smith was the stand out performer for England, who many saw as replacing the injured Farrell and staking his claim for the number ten shirt.

With many before the tournament questioning whether Farrell can still perform on the international stage, calling for a fresher line-up to be introduced, McCall defended his captain and hailed the “Test-match animal”.

“I can just talk about the leader and the player that I know really and it’s for others to draw conclusions as to how valuable that is to his country,” said McCall.

“The leader I know is sensational, I’ve never come across someone who can lead the way he does. He can lead by example, he can lead vocally but he’s got the clarity of thought to understand if something is wrong, what needs to be fixed, he finds solutions to problems better than most.

“He articulates that with his team-mates better than most and he’s an inspiration, so as captain he’s rare and unique, I think.

“As a player, he’s a force of nature. The bigger the game, the better he is. He’s a Test-match animal. Nothing brings the best out of him more than a huge game of rugby and certainly we’ve missed him over this period.”

McCall warns Six Nations returnees may need time

Although Farrell was absent from the Guinness Six Nations, his Saracens team-mates Nick Isiekewe, Maro Itoje, Elliot Daly and Max Malins were all called up to the side, with the Saracens director of rugby confirming that all four have returned unscathed.

Maro Itoje has returned from the Six Nations unscathed, says Mark McCall

He praised their ability to ‘get stuck in’ to their club rugby after international tournaments, but admits that their workloads are something he will have to look at throughout the duration of the season.

“Historically our players have been superb coming back to the club after a Six Nations and just getting stuck in,” he said.

“But we’re also conscious of the fact that, especially the last two games they’ve played in (defeats to Ireland and France), they’ve taken some kind of emotional toll on those players.

“They’re human beings and not robots and to expect them to just jump from international rugby straight into club rugby is something we’ve got to consider with our selection.

“We’re not in the Champions Cup this year, that makes a difference for us, it allows us the luxury of maybe resting them down the line rather than right away but we will make those decisions after the training session today.”