Dan Robson injury: England scrum-half diagnosed with blood clots to deal blow to Rugby World Cup hopes

Wasps and England half-back could miss the rest of the season after pain in his leg was revealed to be blood clots

England scrum-half Dan Robson has suffered a major blow in his hopes of playing at the Rugby World Cup this year after being diagnosed with blood clots.

The Wasps half-back was ruled out of this Saturday’s Six Nations finale against Scotland due to “illness”, having been pencilled in on the bench in his continuing role as Ben Youngs’ understudy.

But Robson was ruled out on Tuesday and Saracens’ Ben Spencer called up in his place, robbing him of adding to the two Test caps he has won this Six Nations against France and Italy.

It has now been revealed that Robson’s issue is serious, having been diagnosed with blood clots in his leg, which if left untreated could be potentially fatal.

"Dan Robson suffered blood clots which arose spontaneously earlier this week and is being evaluated at the moment,” and RFU spokesman said. “At this stage it is too early to give a return-to-play date."

Robson is understood to have highlighted pain in his leg at the start of the week, before being taken to hospital where analysis of the problem revealed the blood clots - which can form in either veins or arteries and can completely block the body’s blood flow if not treated.

He will see a specialist this weekend ahead of further treatment, but no timeframe has been put on his return and the fear is that it will be months rather than weeks before he is seen on a rugby pitch again.

Robson issued a statement after the news was confirmed to say that he was “pretty devastated” about the news, but added: “I know I am in the best hands to get back to full health and back on the pitch as soon as I can. Appreciate all the support from everyone and a special shout out to all the medical staff that have aided me especially in locating the issue and acting so promptly. All the best to the boys @englandrugby ahead of the game against Scotland today.”

The setback is a major blow to the 27-year-old, having already suffered a stop-start season, and fears that he could miss the rest of the 2018/19 campaign would leave him struggling to make the England squad that will fly to Japan for the World Cup in September.

Robson missed the autumn internationals last November with ankle ligament damage, but his return to form for his club earned him a first selection by Eddie Jones for the opening Six Nations campaign against Ireland. Robson was kept on the bench, however, before finally making his international debut against France a week later. He would again remain an unused replacement in the defeat by Wales, before playing 19 minutes against Italy last weekend and scoring his first international try in the process.

Dan Robson has been diagnosed with blood clots and could miss the rest of the season (Getty)

Without Robson to choose from, Jones has Spencer and Saracens teammate Richard Wigglesworth, plus 85-cap Danny Care to select from to make up the three scrum-halves that will feature in his 31-man World Cup squad. Robson has not been ruled out of selection, but should he fail to recover before the end of the domestic season in May, he will have just four World Cup warm-up games to prove he warrants selection.

Jones is due to name his first pre-World Cup squad at the end of June that will feature players not involved in the Premiership play-offs, before a full complement of internationals begin preparations in early August where England face Wales twice and Ireland, as well as a final fixture against Italy in early September.