Dowson confident Mitchell will shake off hamstring trouble for Northampton's title defence

Northampton Saints head coach Phil Dowson has expressed confidence that England and Lions scrum-half Alex Mitchell will be fit to start the club’s Gallagher Premiership title defence against Newcastle Red Bulls on 25 September, after the half-back missed England’s final Nations Championship fixture against Argentina.

Mitchell sustained the injury during England’s 73-8 victory over Fiji at Everton’s Bramley Dock stadium in July — the latest in a series of hamstring problems that have disrupted his past year. Dowson confirmed the 27-year-old is back on the training pitch and that the focus now is on careful management rather than concern.

“He’s been training really well, and I think he’s desperate to get stuck into it. It will have been disappointing to miss the summer,” Dowson said. “I feel like he had a great opportunity in the final and was fantastic considering he hasn’t played.”

Dowson acknowledged the recurring nature of the issue but was measured in his assessment of the risk. “It’s the hamstring that he did in the Six Nations, and so there’s some soft tissue there. We’ll obviously put some processes into place to try and mitigate those risks, but every single player is open to injury, and he won’t be the first or last to have to miss really important games.”

Elsewhere in the Saints camp, wing Archie McParland was forced to withdraw from a three-day England training camp at Pennyhill Park this week through illness. McParland had already endured a difficult summer, having been ruled out of the Test series with a serious leg injury — requiring 38 stitches — sustained during Northampton’s Premiership final victory over Exeter Chiefs.

Dowson was keen to play down any alarm over the illness, framing it as a precautionary measure ahead of a demanding season. “He’s on the mend. We had a bit of illness in the camp, so we’re trying to nip that in the bud, and we’re trying to look after those players before the onslaught of the season. So very disappointing for Archie, but I’m hopeful and fairly confident he’ll get more opportunities in that space.”

Alex Coles, Manny Iyogun, Henry Pollock, Fin Smith and Tommy Freeman were all present at the Pennyhill Park camp, underlining the depth of England interest in Northampton’s squad as the champions prepare to defend their title.