England are set to be without superstar playmaker Marcus Smith for the World Cup semi-final clash against the Springboks on Saturday.
Smith endured a tough outing at fullback in England’s quarter-final victory over Fiji, suffering a head-on-head collision as early as the 22nd minute of the match.
The 24-year-old passed an initial HIA and returned to the field, but was bandaged by the end of the game after being in several heavy collisions.
According to the Telegraph, Smith did not take part in a warm-up football game on Tuesday, as he is going through a “modified training programme”, while he is yet to be completely cleared of concussion.
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If Smith is ruled out of Saturday’s semi-final in Paris, Steve Borthwick will be forced to recall Freddie Steward in what is reportedly expected to be the only change to England’s starting lineup.
Steward was on a run of 26 consecutive starts at fullback before he was rotated out of the lineup for England’s pool match against minnows Chile, before he was left out of the matchday-23 entirely for the quarter-final.
The 1,96m Leicester Tigers player will offer better physicality and security under the high ball than Smith, if he is called on to start.
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