England's Six Nations preparations have suffered a significant blow with Asher Opoku-Fordjour ruled out of the tournament due to a shoulder injury. The 21-year-old Sale Sharks prop sustained the injury in training and will undergo surgery on Friday, sidelining him for at least two months.
Opoku-Fordjour joins Bath's Will Stuart on the sidelines, who is out for the rest of the season with a ruptured Achilles. This leaves Joe Heyes of Leicester as the only established international tighthead available to head coach Steve Borthwick ahead of the opener against Wales on 7 February.
Northampton's Trevor Davison, who earned his third England cap last summer, offers experienced cover. Other potential options include Gloucester's Afolabi Fasogbon, Bath's Vilikesa Sela, and Bristol's George Kloska, who has featured for England A.
At loosehead, Harlequins' Fin Baxter has yet to play in 2026 due to injury, adding further concern to the front row. Borthwick is set to name his Six Nations squad on Friday 23 January.
Sale director of rugby Alex Sanderson expressed confidence in Opoku-Fordjour's recovery, saying, 'It takes a special kind of person to take on the psychological load of playing international rugby at tighthead at 19 or 20 years old... He just gets on with it.'
