England assistant coach Neal Hatley has confirmed there is no certain timeline as to when star back Jack Nowell will be back from injury.
The 26-year-old Exeter Chiefs winger picked up an ankle injury during the Gallagher Premiership final in which his side fell to a 36-34 loss to Saracens.
He has undergone surgery on the injury and despite being on the mend Hatley is uncertain as to when he will return to play.
“Jack (Nowell) is progressing. He went back to his club and we’re hoping he’ll be back and ready to be an option. The review with him will be ongoing. He’s a good healer so we’ll see where we get to with him,” he said.
Nowell is joined on the side-lines by Brad Shields, who suffered a foot injury whilst at England’s warm weather training camp in Italy two weeks ago. It is believed that he should return within four to five weeks.
However, in more positive news for English fans, star prop Mako Vunipola is ahead of schedule in his bid to return from a hamstring injury and could be back in contention for some game-time soon.
The bad news for the likes of Nowell and Shields is that head coach Eddie Jones is set to name his final 31-man squad for the Rugby World Cup on Monday and with no certainty over their return he may opt against selecting them.
Before Jones makes his announcement England face Wales in the first of four World Cup warm-up games which will give some players one final chance to stake a claim for a ticket on the plane to Japan.
