Owen Farrell in doubt for England vs Scotland after missing training on Friday due to leg injury scare

Inside centre suffered a leg injury on Thursday and went through his own session at Twickenham

Owen Farrell trained on his own on Friday (Getty)

Owen Farrell failed to take part in full training for England on Friday, raising serious doubts about his participation in Saturday’s Calcutta Cup clash against Scotland.

England will attempt to match New Zealand’s record of winning 18 matches in a row this weekend, and move to within one game of a second consecutive Six Nations Grand Slam, should they beat the Scots and see off Ireland next weekend.

But they may have to do so without influential cente Farrell. The England vice-captain had to leave training early on Thursday after being struck down with a leg injury which required treatment from the medical team, and despite Eddie Jones’s best attempts to cover up the scare – claiming he hurt himself chasing Jones’s dog, Annie – it was clear that the coaching staff had concerns over Farrell.

The 25-year-old was expected to train in Friday’s Captain’s Run at Twickenham, but he did not join the rest of the team in running through their drills, with Ben Te’o wearing the No 12 bib that Farrell would normally fill. The Saracens half-back instead trained on his own with former England fly-half Jonny Wilkinson, who was also in attendance at Pennyhill Park on Thursday when Farrell suffered the injury.

“Owen didn’t train today and we’re monitoring his leg injury. It’s a leg injury,” said defence coach Paul Gustard on Friday.

“We have until tomorrow before kick-off to make a decision, which means he has at least another 24 hours of recovery ahead of him. We’ll make a call as and when we know more.”

Despite the initial expectation that Saracens fly-half Alex Lozowski would be added to the squad in case Farrell doesn’t make it, Gustard confirmed that 24th man Jonny May remains the alternative option, which could leave England light at fly-half if George Ford were to be forced off.

“We’re not bringing anyone in,” Gustard added. “We’re obviously very happy with Ben in the squad. We have Jonny May with us at the moment as 24th man, so we have some flexibility as cover.

Owen Farrell trained away from the squad alongside Jonny Wilkinson (PA)

“We’re really confident (if Farrell misses out). We’re very happy with the squad that we’ve got and the 24 that we chose for this game. Whatever combination we end up with at 10, 12, 13, we’re happy.”

A video released by England Rugby’s Twitter account showed the squad running out for training on Friday morning, with Farrell lagging behind the team as he headed out for his own individual session.

It’s not yet known if Te’o will replace Farrell in the starting line-up for Saturday afternoon’s encounter, and England have until an hour before kick-off at 16:00 to submit their final team. Should Farrell fall short in his bid to be fit, then Te’o will come into the side with the Gloucester wing, May, added to the replacements.

Farrell celebrated receiving his 50th cap in the 36-15 win over Italy last time out, and has started every one of Jones’s 16 matches in charge of England.