Richard Wigglesworth handed England call-up as Ben Youngs replacement

Youngs suffered knee ligament damage in the seven-try rout of Italy on Sunday and will miss at least the Twickenham showdown with Wales

Monday 05 February 2018 22:07 GMT
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Richard Wigglesworth steps in for the injured Ben Youngs
Richard Wigglesworth steps in for the injured Ben Youngs (Getty)

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England have called up Richard Wigglesworth to replace the injured Ben Youngs for Saturday's Six Nations clash with Wales.

Youngs suffered knee ligament damage in the seven-try rout of Italy on Sunday and will miss at least the Twickenham showdown with Warren Gatland's men and possibly the entire tournament.

The Leicester scrum-half's name was missing from the 32 summoned to England's Surrey training base, confirming Wigglesworth will provide cover for Danny Care as a replacement against Wales.

A scan undertaken on Monday afternoon will determine Youngs' fate and it is also an important week for Nathan Hughes, who is to be assessed by medics to see whether he will play any role in this Six Nations.

The injury robs England of their 74-cap first-choice scrum-half, although in Danny Care Jones is able to call on a vastly experienced replacement who made his 77th Test appearance on Sunday when he came on for his injured teammate.

Wigglesworth also adds plenty of experience to the squad, as despite his 27 international caps, the 34-year-old has made more than 300 Premiership appearances for Sale Sharks and current club Saracens, although he has not featured in the team under Jones and has not been seen in camp since the non-Test match against the Barbarians last summer, where he remained an unused replacement.

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