Dylan Hartley will play no part in England’s Six Nations campaign after it emerged he will undergo knee surgery on Tuesday. The England co-captain has not appeared in the tournament so far and will be out of action for at least a month.
Hartley has not played since 21 December because of what Eddie Jones described as “wear and tear” and Northampton called a “grumbly knee”. It was hoped the hooker would be able to avoid an operation but he saw a surgeon on Friday and one is required.
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Northampton are hopeful that, if all goes well, Hartley will be back in action in four weeks, which would still rule him out of England’s remaining matches against Scotland and Italy but allow him to return before the end of the season and well before World Cup preparations start. Jones, however, cast doubt on whether Hartley will feature again this campaign, suggesting after England’s 21-13 defeat by Wales on Saturday he could be sidelined for up to 12 weeks.
The Northampton director of rugby, Chris Boyd, said: “I think if it went outstandingly well he could be playing again in four weeks. If they find something a bit more problematic, it might be a bit longer. We won’t really know until they have a look. We won’t put any pressure on him here and he will work incredibly hard like he has been. By the time the next little block of English stuff comes I’m pretty certain he will be fit and hungry as ever. From an English point of view it’s not bad timing.”