England face injury crisis with halfbacks Alex Mitchell and George Ford

England manager Steve Borthwick is sweating it out to keep starting halfbacks Alex Mitchell and George Ford fit for the team’s four crunch games in November.

Scrum-half Mitchell missed both of Northampton’s opening two Gallagher Premiership matches due to a neck injury. Saints director of rugby Phil Dowson said on Tuesday he could not confirm Mitchell’s return date and said it was ‘up in the air’ as to when he would return to the field.

Meanwhile, Sale No 10 Ford limped off in the team’s loss to Saracens and awaits the results of scans on a ruptured quadriceps muscle. Both players should now be considered doubts for the fall.

Dowson said of Mitchell: ‘He had a scan and received treatment. We are waiting to see if the treatment is enough to get him started again.

‘There’s really no timeline. It can be anything. It’s floating in the air. He felt a little better after resting for a while.

Steve Borthwick could face an injury crisis ahead of England’s autumn internationals.

Alex Mitchell has yet to play a game this season as he continues to recover from a neck injury.

‘He is also frustrated because there is no timeline. What you don’t want to do is mess it up. We’re trying to take a pretty conservative approach to this.’

Rugby sales director Alex Sanderson said of Ford: ‘He has a quad strain and at the moment we don’t know how long his rehabilitation will take.

‘I don’t think he could have continued to play. He walked away and limped a little. ‘The initial report from the scan was that there was a tear, so it was definitely the right decision to bring him in at that time.’

Ford missed England’s summer tour of matches against Japan and New Zealand with an Achilles problem. Borthwick’s national team will face New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Japan over four consecutive weekends in November.

If Mitchell and Ford are not fit by the time of the meeting with the All Blacks on November 2, Bath captain Ben Spencer will be in pole position to start at scrum-half. Marcus Smith or Fin Smith would be the number 10 options.

Sanderson also said on Tuesday that Sale and England flanker Tom Curry were struggling to make a full recovery from head injuries.

Meanwhile, George Ford limped off Sale’s loss to Saracens and awaits the results of a scan on a ruptured quadriceps muscle.

Leicester’s new manager Michael Cheika appeared before the RFU’s disciplinary committee on Tuesday.

Leicester’s new manager Michael Cheika appeared before the RFU’s disciplinary committee on Tuesday charged with conduct prejudicial to the interests of the game.

Australian Chika reportedly defied his independent matchday doctor following his team’s win over Exeter at Sandy Park in the opening week of the season.

If found guilty, Cheika would face a ban.