England injury woes worsen as Chris Robshaw ruled out of 6 Nations

Chris Robshaw will miss the entire RBS 6 Nations with a shoulder problem that further deepens England’s injury troubles.

The 30-year-old flanker was due for surgery on his left shoulder yesterday, with Harlequins expecting him to be sidelined for three months.

England must already do without talisman number eight Billy Vunipola for at least the Six Nations’ early rounds, while captain Dylan Hartley will be short of match-sharpness after his six-week suspension. Joe Marler, Mako Vunipola and James Haskell are all further injury doubts, though locks George Kruis and Joe Launchbury hope to be ready for England’s Six Nations opener against France at Twickenham on Saturday, February 4.

Robshaw forged himself a new lease of Test-match life as England romped to a perfect 13 wins in 2016 under new head coach Jones.

The 55-cap flanker relinquished the captaincy after England’s failure at the 2015 World Cup, but has fought his way firmly into taskmaster coach Jones’ starting line-up.

Meanwhile, World Rugby will not punish Northampton despite ruling the club’s medics wrongfully let George North return to action after a suspected head injury against Leicester in December.

Rugby’s global governing body expressed “disappointment”at Northampton’s failings, after North fell heavily following a tackle from Adam Thompstone in Aviva Premiership action on December 3. North appeared to be knocked unconscious.

World Rugby insisted, however that English authorities acted quickly to avoid any repeat of a player returning to action after suffering a suspected concussion.

The 24-year-old underwent a Head Injury Assessment (HIA) and returned to the fray, but World Rugby has now confirmed North should have been permanently removed. North was later stood down by Northampton, missing three weeks of action as he recovered from his latest head injury issue.

The Wales wing endured an enforced five-month break in November 2014, owing to a string of nasty concussions.

The RFU and Premiership Rugby set up the first Concussion Management Review Group to investigate North’s latest head-injury incident, that later highlighted Northampton’s shortcomings, but again stopped short of imposing any penalty.

World Rugby concluded its own review, claiming “highly constructive” dialogue aimed at avoiding any repeat protocol breach.

“Prioritisation by the medical staff given to evaluating a potential spinal injury to North was advanced as the principal reason for the non-compliance of head injury protocols.

“Following the incident, the RFU and PRL have communicated with all stakeholders to remind them of their obligations to ensure that immediate and permanent removal is observed in all such cases.”