Tuesday 6 November 2018 16:48, UK
Tom Curry has been ruled out of the rest of England's autumn internationals with an ankle injury.
The Sale flanker limped off in the second half of Saturday's 12-11 victory over South Africa and later left Twickenham on crutches.
England head coach Eddie Jones had already revealed Curry was "highly unlikely" to be fit to face New Zealand on Saturday but, following assessment by medical staff, he has also been ruled out of the games against Japan and Australia.
Forwards coach Steve Borthwick said: "Tom injured his ankle and we don't know how long he'll be out for, but he won't be back for our next three Tests.
"He is a fantastic young player and we saw that in the game time he had against South Africa at the weekend.
"He has got a fantastic future ahead of him. I know that with his attitude he'll come back in even better shape than he is now."
Borthwick is not worried about the prospect of having to replace Curry, saying the squad has "great options" for the game against the All Blacks.
"What we've got is some great options in that area as well," added Borthwick.
"When you look at Sam Underhill, we saw Mark Wilson playing at No 8 at the weekend and he's played a lot of his career at a No 7 or a No 6. Zach Mercer has played across all three positions at the back row, so we've got good options there and great competition."
Better news for Jones is that centre Manu Tuilagi (groin) and lock Courtney Lawes (back) have both been passed fit to face the All Blacks after missing the win over the Springboks.
