Alex Sanderson earmarks a potential return date for George Ford

Sale Sharks fans are unlikely to see their new star signing George Ford until 2023.

The England flyhalf was forced off the pitch just 24 minutes the Premiership final with Saracens, as his replacement Freddie Burns arrived ahead of schedule and ultimately kicked the winning points with a last-minute drop goal.

It was later confirmed that Ford had ruptured an achilles tendon and required surgery.

Sale Sharks director of rugby Alex Sanderson has earmarked a possible Ford return when Sale host Tigers in the final weekend of December.

“George ruptured his achilles going over on his ankle in the Premiership final and we are hoping he will be back in six to nine months for the Leicester home game at the end of the year,” Sanderson told The Times. 

“He had the operation about ten days later and Leicester were really good pushing it through. It means we will lose George for the first half of the season, but we do have Rob du Preez fit, which wasn’t the case at the start of last season.”

The injury means that Ford will be unavailable to Eddie Jones for the Autumn Internationals could be in the running for a test recall for the 2023 Six Nations.