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Owen Farrell set to start for England after recovering from concussion

By PA
Owen Farrell and Marcus Smith of England celebrate after game two of the International Test Match series between the Australia Wallabies and England at Suncorp Stadium on July 09, 2022 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Owen Farrell is on course to start England’s autumn opener against Argentina at Twickenham on Sunday as he closes in on making a full recovery from concussion.

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Farrell only has Thursday’s return to play protocol to complete after being knocked out against Exeter on October 22, placing him on the brink of being able form a midfield trio alongside Marcus Smith and Manu Tuilagi for the first time.

The Saracens playmaker took a restricted part in training on Wednesday and England are increasingly confident that he will be ready for the Pumas’ visit.

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“Owen is just going through the last bits of his return to play but everything’s gone according to plan so far. He looked good in training, full of enthusiasm. Just his normal self really,” attack coach Martin Gleeson said.

England are keen to reprise the Smith-Farrell playmaking axis that was first seen last autumn only for successive ankle injuries to sideline the senior member of the attacking brains trust until the July tour to Australia.

Eddie Jones is investing in the duo with next year’s World Cup in mind, although they have fired only in glimpses as a partnership.

“Owen’s partnership with Marcus is a big part of where we want to go as a team. They are four games in together and we want to build on that this autumn,” Gleeson said.

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Hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie and wing Jonny May have yet to be ruled out for the first of this month’s Tests but they have not taken part in full training as they recover from respective knee and elbow injuries.

Less than a fortnight ago May received oxygen on the pitch after his arm contorted into an alarming position on club duty for Gloucester against London Irish.

“He’s Jonny May! That’s what he does. His healing powers are unbelievable,” Gleeson said. “He’s in a good spot and is potentially available for this weekend, but we’re not 100 per cent sure on that yet.”

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SK 25 minutes ago
Why England's defence of the realm has crumbled without Felix Jones

The way they are defending is sometime pathetic to be honest. Itoje is usually on the inside of the rush and he is paired with a slower tight forward. Unable to keep up with the rush we have seen the line become disconnected on the inside where the big boys are. How many times have we seen Earl rush past the first receiver almost into no mans land covering no attacker. It looks like a system without any guidance. Tome Wright, Ikitau and a number of Wallabies went back to this soft centre as did Williams, Jordan and several others. Also when the line is broken the multiple lines of defence seems to be missing. The rush is predicated on a cover and recovery system with multiple lines of defence but with England you dont see it any more. Fitness and conditioning seems to be off as well as players are struggling to keep up with the intensity of the rush. Felix Jones has left a huge hole. The whole situation was and is a mess. Why they insist on not letting him go and having him work remotely is beyond me. Its leading to massive negative press and is a hot button issue thats distracting from the squad. Also the communication around Jones and his role has been absolute rubbish and is totally disjointed. While some say he is working remotely and playing a role others are saying theres been no contact. His role has not been defined and so people keep asking and keep getting different answers. England need a clean break from him and need to start over. Whatever reason for his leaving its time to cut the rope before the saga drags the whole Borthwick regime down. As for Joe El Abd well good luck to him. He is being made to look like an amateur by the whole saga and he is being asked to coach a system thats not his and which has been perfected and honed since 2017 by Nienaber, Jones, Erasmus and Co and which was first started by White in 2004. He is literally trying to figure out a system pioneered by double world cup winning coaches at the highest level and coach it at the same time. Talk about being on a hiding to nothing.

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