Joe Marler: England prop to miss Australia Test after positive Covid test

Joe Marler shaking hands with a Tonga player after Saturday's Test match
Joe Marler was a 67th minute replacement for Ellis Genge against Tonga on Saturday
Venue: Twickenham, London Date: Saturday, 13 November Kick-off: 17:30 GMT
Coverage: Live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app.

England prop Joe Marler will miss Saturday's Test against Australia in the Autumn Nations Series at Twickenham after testing positive for Covid-19.

Marler returned a positive lateral flow test on Monday with a subsequent PCR test also coming back positive.

The 32-year-old Harlequins forward will now isolate for 10 days in line with government regulations.

All other players and staff are waiting for PCR test results after additional lateral flow tests came back negative.

The squad trained as normal on Tuesday morning as they continue preparations for the Australia game.

England captain Owen Farrell missed Saturday's 69-3 win over Tonga after testing positive for Covid-19, although he was able to re-join the squad the following day as his initial sample was declared a false positive.

A member of England's support staff also tested positive last week.

Marler was named among the replacements for the Tonga game and came on in place of Ellis Genge with 13 minutes remaining.

After Saturday's meeting with Australia, England's final Autumn Test will be against South Africa at Twickenham on Saturday, November 20.

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Source: BBC Rugby Union News

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By adamreeves / Administrator, bbp_keymaster on Nov 09, 2021