England back row Ben Earl will be available for the start of the Six Nations after Saracens received a positive update on his knee problem.
A scan revealed medial meniscus damage, which has now been repaired, and Earl is likely to return in January.
“We anticipate he’ll be out for between four to six weeks,” Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall said.
Earl was a standout performer for England on their run to a third-place finish at the Rugby World Cup in France in October, playing 80 minutes in six out of their seven matches.
“Ben had a minor knee procedure this morning,” McCall added. “He’s had a busy time with a lot of minutes in August, September and October, so to have a six-week period not playing rugby might actually be good for him in the long run.”
England wing Elliot Daly suffered a minor hamstring injury in the warm-up and is expected to be available to face Northampton on 2 December.
However, Saracens centre Alex Lozowski damaged his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and faces a lengthy time on the sidelines.
