Billy Vunipola to miss start of new Premiership season as he has not recovered from broken arm

Saracens may be the reigning Premiership champions but Mark McCall already has an injury crisis on his hands with Vunipola, Liam Williams and George Kruis all absent

Billy Vunipola is set to miss the start of the new Premiership season (PA)

Billy Vunipola is likely to miss the start of the new Premiership season as his 2017/18 injury nightmare rolls into the new campaign, with the England No 8 still yet to recover from the broken arm he suffered in the summer.

The unlucky 25-year-old played just seven times for Saracens last season due to shoulder, knee and arm injuries, and upon his return to the England squad for the summer tour of South Africa, he re-fractured the arm that he broke in January this year, ruling him out of the remainder of the series and facing yet another slog through rehabilitation.

Speaking at the launch of the Premiership season, Saracens’ director of rugby Mark McCall all but ruled Vunipola out of their opening trip to Newcastle Falcons next Saturday, but did give an optimistic return date of later in September to give him a chance of proving his fitness for England’s autumn international campaign.

“It was a very straightforward break, so he could probably come back from that break in game two or game three,” McCall said on Thursday. “Probably not game one, not definitely not, but probably not. He’s running and doing everything he needs to do so he’s fine.

“There’s normally six-to-eight weeks [out] and he’s forward a week, but we’re not going to rush him back.

“He obviously got to play a few games in the summer which was good, he played the [Premiership] final. Fingers crossed that this year he’s going to be ok but that’s just a broken arm and one of those things.”

But Vunipola’s injury troubles will feel awfully familiar to last season. He was due to appear at the Premiership launch alongside McCall, only to be replaced at the last-minute by Owen Farrell, and made just three starts for England in the last 21 months. His absence for the start of the season also continues the back-row crisis that Saracens had to endure for large periods of their title-winning 2017/18 season.

Vunipla re-fractured his arm on England's tour of South Africa (Getty)

“Calum Clark is still recovering from a broken arm sustained last March, it was a more complicated broken arm so he’s nearly there but we’re not sure if he’ll start the season either,” McCall added.

“Schalk Burger is coming back from a torn hamstring, he tore the hamstring off the bone. He’s training with the team next week but that’s three of the back-row - not a good start!”

There are also injury concerns over British and Irish Lions wing Liam Williams and England lock George Kruis, neither of which played a part in Saracens’ pre-season encounter against the Ospreys on Thursday.

Liam Williams is also likely to miss Saracens' opening match against Newcastle (Getty)

Williams underwent groin surgery to correct an issue he was hampered with last season, with the decision taken by all parties to get the procedure out of the way now given that the 2019 Rugby World Cup is looming large at the end of the season.

“Liam Williams got a little operation done at the start of the pre-season. He had a groin issue last year and we just felt it wasn’t a big issue but let’s get it done because it’s going to have to be done at some stage before the World Cup,” McCall said. “He may or may not miss the start of the season. [Wales] were aware, but it suits everybody really. The maximum he’s going to miss is Premiership round one really.

“George had an op as you know and he’s just had a minor setback and he’d probably be ok for game one, but hasn’t done quite enough. He’s back in training now, so we’re probably looking at game two or game three but if something happened to Nick Isiekwe this afternoon he could play.”