Itoje to rehab with England as Farrell omitted from training squad

Sun, Sep 14, 2025, 5:10 PM
AFP
by AFP
There was no place for Owen Farrell in the 36-man squad announced by England coach Steve Borthwick on Sunday. Photo: Getty Images
There was no place for Owen Farrell in the 36-man squad announced by England coach Steve Borthwick on Sunday. Photo: Getty Images

England captain Maro Itoje will be unable to train during England's first camp ahead of their November international campaign as he continues his rehabilitation from the concussion he suffered during the British and Irish Lions' tour of Australia.

Meanwhile there was no place for Owen Farrell in the 36-man squad announced by England coach Steve Borthwick on Sunday, with the former captain eligible again for selection after returning to Saracens following a brief stint with Paris club Racing 92.

Watch the Wallabies tackle the All Blacks live and on-demand via Stan Sport.

Itoje will be present for the three-day camp in Surrey that runs until Tuesday but will not spend any time on the field.

The 30-year-old Lions skipper failed a head injury assessment after 27 minutes of the third Test against the Wallabies in Sydney on August 2 and has been stood down from training.

England's Lions stars will miss the opening two rounds of the domestic Premiership as part of the mandatory post-tour rest period and Saracens have given Itoje an additional week off into the bargain.

Farrell's prospects of reviving his England career, following a late call-up to the Lions tour, appear to have receded after the fly-half, who can also play at inside centre, was left out by former Red Rose captain Borthwick on Sunday.

Borthwick instead selected George Ford, Fin Smith and Marcus Smith as his fly-halves.

Ollie Lawrence, Seb Atkinson and Fraser Dingwall will be his options at inside centre.

England will host Tests against Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and Argentina.

England’s 36-player squad

Forwards: 

Fin Baxter (Harlequins)

Jamie Blamire (Leicester Tigers)

Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers)

Alex Coles (Northampton Saints)

Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks)

Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins)

Ben Curry (Sale Sharks)

Ben Earl (Saracens)

Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby)

Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears)

Jamie George (Saracens)

Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers)

Ted Hill (Bath Rugby)

Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks)

Guy Pepper (Bath Rugby)

Henry Pollock (Northampton Saints)

Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks)  

Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby)

Tom Willis (Saracens)

Backs: 

Seb Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby)

Oscar Beard (Harlequins)

Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints)

George Ford (Sale Sharks)

Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints)

George Furbank (Northampton Saints)

Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby)

Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints)

Will Muir (Bath Rugby)

Cadan Murley (Harlequins)

Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks) 

Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)

Fin Smith (Northampton Saints)

Marcus Smith (Harlequins)

Ben Spencer (Bath Rugby)

Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers)

Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers) Rehabilitation: Tom Curry (Sale Sharks), Elliot Daly (Saracens), Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs), Maro Itoje (Saracens), Will Stuart (Bath Rugby). 

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