Mako Vunipola’s season is over but the Saracens director of rugby, Mark McCall, is confident the loosehead prop will be fit for England’s World Cup campaign.
Vunipola suffered a hamstring injury during the first half of Saracens’ European Champions Cup final win over Leinster last Saturday, hobbling off at the same time as his teammate and the tighthead prop Titi Lamositele. It was only Vunipola’s second appearance after recovering from an ankle injury sustained during England’s Six Nations victory over France, forcing him to miss three subsequent matches including the decisive defeat by Wales.
It has been a campaign blighted by injury for the 28-year-old, who missed all of England’s autumn internationals with a calf problem but, while McCall conceded he will play no part in Saracens’ pursuit of a second Champions Cup and Premiership double in four years, he sees no cause for concern for Eddie Jones.
“Mako has a torn hamstring. We’re waiting to see exactly what happens with that, but I very much doubt he’ll play again this season. Neither will Titi,” McCall said. “Mako won’t be out of the World Cup but he’ll be out for a while. It’s quite a significant injury. It’s disappointing to lose two players of that quality and it makes us a little bit vulnerable.”
England’s first World Cup warm-up match is against Wales on 11 August, giving Vunipola almost three months to return to full fitness and, with Saracens guaranteed a play‑off place and widely tipped to reach the Premiership final on 25 May, he is not due to join up with the national training squad until July. Jones will nonetheless monitor Vunipola’s progress closely, given loosehead prop is a position in which England are lacking in experienced options since the international retirement of Joe Marler shortly before the autumn campaign.