Maro Itoje's return date unclear, says Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall

Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall says it is unwise to speculate on when Maro Itoje will be back in action after the lock fractured his jaw in two places.

The 23-year-old underwent surgery after being injured in the 20-19 defeat to Harlequins in the Aviva Premiership at the weekend and will see a specialist on Thursday to determine exactly how long he will be out.

Speaking to Sky Sports News, McCall said it will be important to wait until after that meeting before jumping to conclusions.

"He had an operation on Sunday evening after the game which went well which is good news," said McCall. "He is seeing a consultant tomorrow which will determine just how long he is out for.

"I think it is wise to wait until we hear what the consultant says tomorrow. Obviously I'm not an expert but these things range from 10 to 12 weeks to three or four weeks so I guess it is wiser to let the experts say that."

Losing Itoje is a big blow for Saracens, who have lost their last five games in all competitions, and also for England with the start of the Six Nations just a couple of months away.

McCall added: "Obviously it is a loss, he is a great player, Maro, but we've got other great players at the club and like every other club we've just got to crack on and we've got some exciting games coming up."

Saracens host Clermont Auvergne in the Champions Cup on Sunday at the start of a hectic few weeks and McCall accepts they will have to make full use of the squad after a spate of injuries to key players.

He went on: "We've probably got the amount of injuries that we normally have, it just so happens they have all come to players that would normally be in our first team.

"Like I said before we have got a very good squad here and we will back that squad over the next number of weeks."