England’s Jack Nowell in fitness race for Rugby World Cup after ankle surgery

England face a Rugby World Cup waiting game over the fitness of Jack Nowell, who has undergone surgery on the ankle he damaged in the Premiership final this month. Exeter’s head coach says he “sees no reason at this stage” why the wing should not feature at the tournament but England’s warm-up Tests in August may come too soon.

Nowell’s form clearly merits a place in Eddie Jones’s final 31-man World Cup squad but the 26-year-old will now be unable to participate in all aspects of the intense fitness programme the coach has planned for his squad this summer. The good news is that Rob Baxter believes the Cornishman has a decent chance of being available for England’s opening pool games in September.

The wing left the field in obvious pain at Twickenham and subsequent scans on the ankle and knee resulted in ankle surgery being recommended. “At this stage we see no reason why it should jeopardise him being involved with England at the Rugby World Cup nor with us heading into the new season,” the coach said.

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England will be announcing their first training squad on Thursday but only players from outside the top four Premiership sides will be involved. A preliminary list of 29 names is anticipated, with Jones initially able to work only with individuals who were not involved in the play-offs.

Anyone from a club outside Saracens, Exeter, Gloucester and Northampton will be struggling to make it to Japan if he misses the initial cut this week for the opening camp in Bagshot commencing on Sunday evening. Among those under threat are England’s erstwhile captain Dylan Hartley, who has not played since December, and the Harlequins pair of Danny Care and Chris Robshaw, unless injury intervenes and removes those players currently ranked above them. There are likely to be one or two surprise inclusions, with the forceful Quins flanker Alex Dombrandt among those making a powerful late surge.

Saracens, meanwhile, have been handed a distinctly awkward draw for their defence of the Champions Cup next season. They have been drawn alongside Munster, Racing 92 and Ospreys in Pool 4, with the opening games due to kick off less than a fortnight after the World Cup is over.

Northampton and Gloucester face trips to Leinster and Toulouse respectively while Harlequins and Bath find themselves in the same pool as Clermont Auvergne. Scotland’s Stuart Hogg can also expect plenty of attention after his new club, Exeter, were drawn to face his former team Glasgow Warriors in Pool 2. “It was almost destined that, with us having signed Stuart from Glasgow, he would end up facing them in Europe,” Baxter said.

Baxter is keen to ensure the Chiefs give a good account of themselves in a pool also containing La Rochelle and Sale Sharks. “It’s a good draw for us,” he said. “At the same time I want us to start setting ourselves these challenges of being a top European side. We’ve been guilty in the past of not quite reaching our potential within this competition but hopefully that will change this season.” • 2019/20 Heineken Champions Cup. Pool 1: Leinster, Lyon, Northampton Saints, Benetton Rugby Pool 2: Exeter Chiefs, Glasgow Warriors, La Rochelle, Sale Sharks Pool 3: ASM Clermont Auvergne, Ulster, Harlequins, Bath Pool 4: Saracens, Munster, Racing 92, Ospreys Pool 5: Toulouse, Gloucester, Connacht Rugby, Montpellier

2019/20 Challenge Cup. Pool 1: Castres Olympique, Worcester Warriors, Dragons, Enisei-STM. Pool 2: Scarlets, RC Toulon, London Irish, Bayonne. Pool 3: Wasps, Edinburgh Rugby, Bordeaux-Bègles, Agen. Pool 4: Stade Français Paris, Bristol Bears, Zebre, Brive. Pool 5: Cardiff Blues, Leicester Tigers, Pau, Rugby Calvisano.