Elliot Daly ruled out of England vs Barbarians with unknown injury as Eddie Jones expresses his concern

Eddie Jones expressed his concern for injured utility back Elliot Daly after admitting he is not entirely sure what is the cause of the leg injury that will keep him out of this week’s clash with the Barbarians.

Daly was left out of the England squad after suffering an unknown pain in his leg, which will require further assessment before determining the extent of the injury and how long it will take to require.

With this weekend’s uncapped international followed by the Six Nations finale against Italy and four Autumn Nations Cup games, Jones will be hoping for good news surrounding the Saracens back, but he struck an ominous chord on Tuesday given the uncertainty surrounding the issue.

“I was speaking to him this morning,” Jones said. “Elliot has had a bump on his leg for a good period of time. It hasn't really worried him and he's trained.

“We're not sure what's wrong so we're going to get some tests done and we'll wait and see what the answer is. I'd rather not say which part of his leg at the moment, let's just wait and see. We'll do all the various tests and he will see a consultant and then we'll have a pretty good idea of where he's at.”

There was at least a dose of good news for the England head coach with Harlequins prop Joe Marler recovering well after undergoing surgery on a troublesome knee at the end of the Premiership season. The 30-year-old has been brought into the squad this week additionally to the 32-man squad named by Jones for ‘reconditioning’, a specific individualised program designed to get players back in the right shape for international rugby demands, and although both this weekend’s game with the Barbarians and next week’s trip to Rome will come too soon for Marler, he could well feature during the Autumn Nations Cup.

“Joe is coming along really well,” Jones added. “He's maybe another two or three weeks away from being available for selection, but he's come in and added to the camp and is his usual effervescent self.

“The training camps have been excellent. We've had good camps, all the players and staff are conscious of their responsibility. It's been a tough time for the country and a lot of people have lost their jobs and a lot of people have had losses to their family. We're conscious of our responsibility to put a smile on people's faces.

“The attitude in the camp has been first class and this week we move into Test match preparation for the Barbarians so things are a bit more serious and we're knuckling down to prepare for a game.”

Jones looks set to deploy an unusually strong line-up for this Sunday’s match with Vern Cotter’s invitational side, with the Australian looking to use the Twickenham run-out as a chance to sharpen his squad ahead of their delayed Six Nations clash with Italy.

However, given the uncertainty surrounding international rugby in the current climate, Jones admitted that he won’t know exactly where his side is until they return to action more than seven months since their last match.

“It's always hard to know,” he said. “We never know about these things, but we're preparing well and let's see how things go.

“It's a lot different this year. We've got a number of players who haven't played for four or five weeks and we're conscious of the fact we've got the Six Nations game afterwards, so we're looking at this as a two-week selection, getting players ready for Italy and also being right to play against the Barbarians.”

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