Jonny May to miss England’s second Test against Australia amid Covid

• Jonny may not return for the second Test.
• His illness has hindered his fitness.
• There are several replacements that can be filled.

Jonny May is unlikely to return for England in this Saturday’s second Test, and his involvement in the remainder of the series is in doubt because of his recent Covid injury.

The veteran Gloucester wing was absent for last weekend’s loss to Australia since he had only been released from isolation the day before the encounter in Perth.

It is believed that the illness has significantly hindered his physical preparedness to play, and he has not yet resumed full training with the rest of the Red Rose squad.
Defense coach Anthony Seibold issued an update on May, stating, ‘It was a long seven days for Jonny. He’s been back on his feet today running, but he didn’t join in with the team. It will be a graded return to full training.’

While May was confined to a hotel room last week, England made every effort to keep him involved. Seibold added:

‘He’s in the positional group that I work with – the outside backs. One of the things we tried to do was include him while he was in isolation, so sending the team meetings, the backs unit meetings – so he could give his feedback to the players from afar.

‘We’ve used him as a really experienced Test player. We have a really young group in the backs so he’s been bit of a resource for those guys.’

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Eddie Jones intended to have May available this week, but he won’t be. If May is totally fit, he might be recalled to England’s starting XV after the series opener.

Jones must decide whether to stick with Joe Cokanasiga, a peripheral role in the first Test, or risk Henry Arundell or Tommy Freeman.

Tom Curry will return home tomorrow after being declared out for the remainder of this tour due to his third concussion in six months. Tomorrow, Tom will return to England, he stated.

‘We’re disappointed to lose him because he’s a big part of our team, so he’ll be a loss. But it’s an opportunity for somebody else to come in and take his position for the rest of the tour, so there’s some good competition there for spots.

‘We’ll be sad to see Tom go, but it’s about looking after his welfare. There’s a longer-term piece at play with Tom’s health. He’s had some concussions over the recent period of time so the medical staff would rather err on the side of caution.

‘We don’t have any concerns over his medium to longer-term health, but rather than keeping him out here with the squad, he can recover in England and spend time with his friends and his family. He’s in good form – I was talking to him this morning. He’s disappointed he’s not staying and can’t play because he’s a competitor but there’s a longer-term view at play.’

There are ample prospects to occupy the empty seat in the rear row. Jones also has Lewis Ludlam, Jack Willis, and Sam Underhill as opensides.

‘Lewis Ludlam came on and competed really strongly when TC came off with the HIA,’ said Seibold.

‘He’s been a great leader for Northampton this year and when he comes into camp you can certainly tell why he is the captain of his club. He’s got some great leadership quality and he competes really hard.

‘Jack Willis from Wasps is really good over the ball. He competes really strongly defensively. Sam Underhill was one of the outstanding players at the 2019 World Cup. He missed out on selection for the first Test but he’s competed really strongly to put him in the frame for the second Test. So we’ve got some options there.’

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