England and Saracens have been left with a gaping hole to fill after confirmation that Billy Vunipola will be out for four months following knee surgery. Vunipola was forced to pull out of the British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand this summer with a shoulder problem. He also missed virtually the whole of last season’s Six Nations after sustaining a similar injury to the same knee. Saracens, too, will have to readjust with their South African flanker Michael Rhodes also now facing a lengthy lay-off. “It’s desperately disappointing for him, considering how hard he has worked during the off-season to get back to full fitness.

Source: The Guardian September 24, 2017 10:15 UTC