Billy Vunipola ruled out of entire Six Nations as Eddie Jones confirms he doesn't expect to have No 8 back

Billy Vunipola will miss the entire Six Nations even though the fractured arm that he suffered last weekend does not require surgery, with England head coach Eddie Jones confirming that he does not expect to have the No 8 back before the end of the championship.

The Saracens back-row suffered a fractured forearm in last Saturday’s 15-15 draw with Ospreys in what was only his second appearance since returning from a four-month knee injury, and the injury means that the England international will have missed the best part of a year once he eventually returns, following separate injuries to his shoulder and knee in 2017.

With Wasps’ Nathan Hughes also injured, Jones finds himself short of options when it comes to ball-carrying back-rows and as a result, the Australian named Bath’s Zach Mercer in the squad for the first time after serving a “shorter than planned” apprenticeship over the last six months. Hughes could yet return in time for the final three games against Scotland, France and Ireland should he recover from the knee injury that he suffered last month.

“Nathan Hughes [will be back] halfway through possibly,” Jones said after naming a 35-man squad for the opening game against Italy. “He's probably rehabbing a little bit slower than we first thought, [but] I don't think we'll see Billy."

Exeter’s Sam Simmonds is likely to start at No 8 in Rome as a result, but Mercer will certainly be in the mix should he impress Jones during the week-long training camp in Portugal that begins this Sunday.

"The situation means he's [Mercer’s] got a shorter apprenticeship than was first envisaged,” Jones added. “He's now fully available for selection, he's done well for Bath, I've been really impressed by his work-rate off the ball. There's a certain hardness about his game.

“He's always been one of those gifted boys but now he's doing the tough things. I've been really impressed and he could certainly get an opportunity during the Six Nations.”

Jones also confirmed that both James Haskell and Joe Marler will be considered for selection once their respective bans expire after the second match against Wales, with the return of the latter very much needed after Bath’s Beno Obano became the fourth loosehead prop to become unavailable after picking up an injury – joining Marler, Matt Mullan and Ellis Genge in missing out.

As a result, Harlequins’ Lewis Boyce joins Exeter’s Alec Hepburn in receiving their first call-ups, with one of them likely to deputise for Mako Vunipola against Italy in little over two weeks’ time.

"Loosehead has been difficult,” he said. “We've lost Marler through his suspension, Genge, Mullan, the rapper (Beno Obano), so he's gone but he might be back during the Six Nations at some stage. So it's given a guy like (Alec) Hepburn, who has been a good performer for his club, a young prop who went on the Saxons tour two years ago, so again a great opportunity for him."

There’s no room either for Leicester’s fit-again Manu Tuilagi, despite the centre returning to action last month and putting together a string of performances following a horrendous run of injuries. Jones would not rule out of possibility of calling Tuilagi up at some point during the Six Nations, but, for now, he wants him to concentrate on finding his form at Welford Road before thinking of an international return.

Jones said: "I'd like to see him get fit. I think Leicester would like to see him get fit and that's what we're hoping is going to happen. If he does that, then he'll be a chance to get selected.

“I think he's looking sharper every week, he's had a long time off [from] the game and he needs to find that sharpness because when he moves up to international level, the requirement for that sharpness is even stronger. So we'll just wait and see, appraise him and watch him carefully. Certainly, his attitude has been first-class so there might be a stage during the Six Nations where we can bring him back in."