Wales vs England: Eddie Jones counts cost of Six Nations defeat in Courtney Lawes and Jonny May injuries

Both Lawes and May left the Principality Stadium in bad shape, while news emerged that Dylan Hartley may miss the rest of the season as he will undergo knee surgery on Tuesday

Eddie Jones was left to count the cost of England’s defeat against Wales on Saturday night, with the toll of the gruelling Cardiff encounter costing his side not just their Six Nations Grand Slam hopes but a number of players too.

The biggest concern is the injury suffered by Courtney Lawes, with the lock unable to walk off the field as he collapsed when trying to get back to his feet. On top of this, Jonny May left the field in a daze after being clattered in the head by his own teammate Manu Tuilagi, and on top of this Jones revealed after the 21-13 defeat that co-captain Dylan Hartley may miss the rest of the season as he prepares to undergo knee surgery.

With Maro Itoje also unavailable along with Mako Vunipola and Chris Ashton, England’s injury problems have returned.

Jones did not know the extent of Lawes’ injury after the match after he was helped off the field with what appeared to be an injury to either his calf or ankle, but the way that he was unable to get back to his feet suggested that it was a serious problem that leaves him unlikely to feature in the remainder of the tournament against Italy and Scotland.

“We’re not sure,” explained Jones. “He’ll get an MRI scan tomorrow.”

May will also be of major concern given the way that he was unable to get up of the turf for quite some time after colliding with Tuilagi and Wales centre Hadleigh Parkes. When the Scarlets back broke down the right flank, May was forced to come in off his wing just as a charging Tuilagi raced across and attempted to obliterate the New Zealand-born Welshman, but as he made the tackle his hip collided with May’s head and left the England wing motionless on the ground.

“He’s and HIA,” said Jones afterwards. “He’s just doing another test now, so hopefully it’s not too bad mate.”

While Lawes is unlikely to return, May could yet recover in time to face Italy in two weeks’ time depending on how he progresses through the return-to-play protocols, though one player who definitely won’t feature is Hartley as he will undergo knee surgery on Tuesday.

There was confusion over how long Hartley’s lay-off will be, with Northampton Saints offering an optimistic view of four weeks that would see him return in late March, potentially for their European Heineken Challenge Cup quarter-final at Clermont Auvergne on Sunday 31 March. But Jones was far more pessimistic over a return date, and suggested the operation could prove season-ending.

“Tuesday for surgery,” Jones said. “I think at least 12 weeks. It is (a big blow), but hopefully he has the operation and we’ll see if we can get him fit.”

Courtney Lawes suffered a bad-looking injury to his right leg during England's defeat by Wales (Reuters)

However, Northampton hope to have Hartley back by the end of next month. "Dylan went to see the surgeon and they felt in conjunction with our medical people, that the progress he was making was a bit slow and wasn't going fast enough,” said director of rugby Chris Boyd.

"He will have a surgical procedure on Tuesday - open him up and have a look and see what is causing that knee to be grumbly and depending on what they find will depend on how long his rehab will be.

"I think if it went outstandingly well he could be playing again in four weeks. If they find something a bit more problematic it might be a bit longer. We won't really know until they have a look.

"We won't put any pressure on him here and he will work incredibly hard like he has been. By the time the next little block of English stuff comes I'm pretty certain he will be fit and hungry as ever. From an English point of view, it's not bad timing."