England will be without scrum-half Alex Mitchell of Northampton for their November opener against Australia on Sunday, after he was ruled out with an injury, according to a Guardian report on the injury.
The Guardian reported that head coach Steve Borthwick has called Bristol's Harry Randall and Bath's Ben Spencer into the squad he named for the match. Mitchell had been established as England's first-choice No 9 under Borthwick, the paper said.
The same report said the Australia match is followed by games against New Zealand and Japan in the Nations Championship series, which places the loss of Mitchell at the start of a run of fixtures rather than at its end.
The summary of the Guardian article does not say how Mitchell was injured or how long he is expected to be unavailable, and it does not describe whether either replacement is expected to start against Australia.
Separately, BBC Sport NI is looking at how Ireland are shaping up as they prepare for the northern hemisphere series in the 2026 Nations Championship. Its preview of Andy Farrell's side examines how the team is developing ahead of that series.
The BBC summary does not name a squad or describe team selections, so the reports cover England's injury news and Ireland's preparations without any direct comparison between the two teams.
Sources: BBC News: How are Ireland set for the Nations Championship?; The Guardian: Alex Mitchell out of Nations Championship opener in fresh England injury blow.