Borthwick escapes serious injury

The England captain was admitted to Moorfields Eye Hospital on Sunday night after a kick to the face from Gloucester hooker Olivier Azam left him with "extreme swelling" and five stitches.

Borthwick underwent further scans on Monday which eased fears he had suffered a fractured eye socket and medics expect him to be sidelined for between two and four weeks.

England manager Martin Johnson will hope Borthwick keeps to that timeline, with Australia due at Twickenham for the first autumn international on November 7, in just under six weeks' time.

Azam insisted after the game that any contact had been accidental but Saracens have studied their own video footage of the incident and head coach Mark McCall fears otherwise.

McCall said after Saracens' 19-16 victory: "We are concerned at the way it occurred and it would appear it may have been a deliberate act of foul play.

"The video footage we have seen so far would appear to be reasonably clear.

"It is something nobody wants to see. Steve was on the ground and pretty much defenceless in the position he was in."

Azam explained he had lashed out with his right leg because his left ankle was being twisted at the bottom of a ruck and that he was not aware he had even made contact with Borthwick.

"I didn't know I did it. Someone twisted my ankle but I didn't know I touched him. Of course (it was accidental)," he said.