Owen Farrell will undergo lateral flow and PCR tests again on Friday after being put into isolation; England are yet to definitely rule fly-half out of Saturday’s Twickenham fixture with Tonga

Owen Farrell was named at fly-half for the autumn fixture against Tonga at Twickenham

England captain Owen Farrell has tested positive for Covid-19 on the eve of their match against Tonga in the Autumn Nations Series.

Farrell will miss the traditional captain’s run training session on Friday and will undergo lateral flow and PCR tests again after being put into isolation.

All players and staff underwent a round of PCR testing on Thursday after a member of Eddie Jones’ support staff returned a positive result, but only Farrell has come back as a confirmed case.

Farrell, who was selected at fly-half for the Twickenham fixture, is yet to be definitively ruled out of England’s opening match of their autumn schedule, in the hope his sample may have been a false positive.

A statement released by the Rugby Football Union said that preparations for England’s first match against Tonga outside a World Cup are otherwise continuing as planned.

With Farrell’s involvement now a serious doubt, Jones could name replacement Marcus Smith in his starting line-up after the Harlequins player’s involvement in training was restricted this week due to a lower leg injury.