{"id":26799,"date":"2025-04-17T06:19:17","date_gmt":"2025-04-17T06:19:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/26799\/"},"modified":"2025-04-17T06:19:17","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T06:19:17","slug":"saracens-lose-england-international-and-prop-to-injury-for-title-run-in-planet-rugby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/26799\/","title":{"rendered":"Saracens lose England international and prop to injury for title run-in : Planet Rugby"},"content":{"rendered":"

Saracens\u2019 Gallagher Premiership title hopes have been dented by the confirmation that two players won\u2019t play again this season \u2013 including the revitalised Alex Lozowski.<\/strong><\/p>\n

So good was the midfielder in the early of the campaign that he earned a recall to the England squad despite last being capped in 2018<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The five-cap 31-year-old ultimately didn\u2019t play during the four-match Autumn Nations Series, and he then withdrew from their Guinness Six Nations squad to concentrate on playing for Saracens.<\/p>\n

Lozowski exited the March 30 win over Leicester after 59 minutes<\/p>\n

However, he will now miss their end-of-season run-in after surgery was required on an injury sustained in the March 30 win at Leicester that lifted the London club into sixth place with five regular season matches remaining, starting at home to fourth-place Gloucester next Saturday.<\/p>\n

Lozowski, who exited the fray after 59 minutes at Welford Road, wasn\u2019t the only season-ending setback that Saracens sustained in their victory as Fraser Balmain, a first-minute casualty, has also undergone an operation.<\/p>\n

Speaking to the Saracens website, director of rugby Mark McCall said: \u201cBoth Fraser and Alex picked up injuries during the Leicester game. The pair have now had surgeries and will begin their rehabilitation processes, but they unfortunately will be unavailable for the remainder of the campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n

One player that McCall can count on for this Saturday\u2019s round 14 fixture is Tom Willis, who became a regular in Steve Borthwick\u2019s England side during the Six Nations<\/a>. He started in three of his five Test appearances and will now look to power Saracens into the league play-offs.<\/p>\n

\u201cTom has had a really strong season, building on a strong campaign from last year,\u201d McCall explained. \u201cHe came back in incredible condition from preseason and has hit the ground running ever since.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has deservedly found himself in an England shirt recently through his consistency in performance. Topping multiple charts shows his all-court game, which is the sign of a great player. He will be important to our success in this run-in.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Run-In mentality \ud835\uddd4\ud835\uddd6\ud835\udde7\ud835\udddc\ud835\udde9\ud835\uddd4\ud835\udde7\ud835\uddd8\ud835\uddd7! \u270b\ud83c\udffd\ud83e\udd1a\ud83c\udffd<\/p>\n

Help us give the Shed on tour a proper #YourSaracens<\/a>\ud83d\udcab welcome this Saturday. \ud83d\ude09 pic.twitter.com\/beyIRXHim1<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Saracens Rugby Club (@Saracens) April 14, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Switching to Gloucester, who are enjoying a much-improved Premiership season compared to last year\u2019s ninth-place finish, Saracens boss McCall singled out one player for praise when assessing the uplift in the form of George Skivington\u2019s team.<\/p>\n

\u201cGloucester have really changed their identity this season. George came out and declared his intent to change the way they play in pre-season and, to be fair to him, they have stuck to that. They now seem comfortable with the way they want to play the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have certainly grown and developed across all parts of their game in recent times. Tomos Williams has had a big part to play in that. He has been a world-class operator for some years now, both domestically and internationally, and will no doubt be on form this weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/strong>: \u2018Marcus Smith will find it hard to make the British and Irish Lions squad\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n