England have called up uncapped Bath centre Max Ojomoh in place of his injured club teammate Ollie Lawrence ahead of Saturday’s clash with Wales in Cardiff.
Lawrence sustained an Achilles injury in the first half England’s win over Italy at Twickenham on Sunday. England are waiting on further scans before offering a prognosis of how long the Bath centre will be out for, but Steve Borthwick said post-match they feared it was a severe one and a “tough” injury. England fly-half Fin Smith said the team were “devastated” for Lawrence.
Lawrence, 25, will definitely miss Saturday’s final Six Nations clash in Cardiff and is a doubt for the rest of the season and also the British & Irish Lions tour, where he was in contention for a spot in the squad.
Ojomoh, 24, has been drafted into the 35-man group preparing for Saturday’s match as the only change from the squad that was picked ahead of Italy.
Lawrence’s absence means Borthwick will be forced to reshuffle his centre partnership. Fraser Dingwall started against Italy on Sunday at 12 and it remains to be seen who would be drafted in at outside centre. With Lawrence injured, Borthwick could move Tommy Freeman to outside centre, or shift Elliot Daly to No.13 after he started at fullback against Italy.
Henry Slade was dropped for the match with Italy but could return. Another option would be to hand Oscar Beard or Ojomoh their Test debuts as England chase their first Six Nations title since 2020.
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Source: espn.com