England v New Zealand: Freeman and Chessum injury doubts for Saturday’s autumn international

Quilter Nations Series: England v New Zealand

Venue: Allianz Stadium, Twickenham Date: Saturday, 15 November Kick-off: 15:10 GMT

Coverage: Listen to commentary on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and BBC Sounds and follow live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app.

England have injury concerns over Tommy Freeman and Ollie Chessum for their autumn international against New Zealand on Saturday.

Versatile back Freeman is being monitored for a hamstring injury, while second row Chessum has a foot injury and was spotted at the England team hotel on crutches.

The British and Irish Lions duo started England’s wins against Australia and Fiji but missed training on Monday.

Head coach Steve Borthwick has plenty of other wing options should Northampton back Freeman be ruled out.

Elliot Daly is available for selection after completing his recovery from the fractured forearm he sustained on the Lions tour, but has not played since facing Queensland Reds on 2 July.

Tom Roebuck looks to have overcome an ankle injury and Henry Arundell staked his case for a starting place with a stunning try in Saturday’s 38-18 win over Fiji.

Meanwhile, Freddie Steward, who started against Australia, looks to have recovered from a hand injury to compete with Daly and Marcus Smith for the full-back spot.

Captain Maro Itoje started the Fiji game on the bench and could take over from Chessum, with Alex Coles keeping his place in the starting XV.

England are on a run of nine Test wins under Borthwick and moved up to fourth in the world rankings this week, overtaking France after their loss to world champions South Africa.

The All Blacks, ranked second in the world, have won both their matches so far this autumn, beating Ireland 26-13 in their opening tour match before overcoming Scotland 25-17 on Saturday thanks to a dramatic late Damian McKenzie try.

England have not beaten New Zealand since their 2019 Rugby World Cup semi-final in Yokohama and have not defeated the All Blacks at Twickenham since 2012.

Former captain Jamie George says England should embrace the occasion and not be overawed by New Zealand’s reputation.

«You’ve got to be at your best because they’re not just another team,» he said. «They are arguably the best team in the world at the minute. They’ve got world-class players.

«They are as complete a team as there is out there. They’re fantastic and they seem to step up a gear when they come to Allianz Stadium.

«We’ve got to come up with a clear gameplan that’s going to put them under as much pressure as possible and then go out and execute it perfectly because that’s what we’ll need to do to win.»

Flanker Sam Underhill said England will face a tough challenge to nullify New Zealand’s attacking threats.

«They are a very athletic team,» he told BBC Sport. «They have a lot of very good ball-carriers and are a very good wide attacking team.

«They are famous how they light up in attack and how quickly they move the ball and take advantage of space. You have to keep them as shut down as you can.

«They have a very good attacking skillset but also jackal threat with guys like Ardie Savea and Wallace Sititi at the breakdown.»