Kildunne faces race to make potential semi-final

Kildunne sustained the injury in a 45th-minute tackle by Australia's scrum-half Samantha Wood

World player of the year Ellie Kildunne will miss England's Rugby World Cup quarter-final against Scotland next weekend after sustaining a head injury in the Red Roses' 47-7 win over Australia.

The England full-back was forced off in the second half of England's Pool A win on Saturday and faces a mandatory minimum 12-day stand-down period after showing concussion symptoms.

The 25-year-old will also need a hitch-free recovery to be back available to England in time for a potential semi-final on Saturday, 20 September.

Obvious concussion symptoms, such as those shown by Kildunne, negate the need for a pitchside head injury assessment (HIA).

Players whose concussion is diagnosed via an HIA, who have no history of concussion and show no symptoms at a check 36 hours after their injury, can return to action in a minimum of seven days.

However, that route - which could have made Kildunne available for the Scotland match - is not open to the England star under World Rugby's rules as she showed clear concussion symptoms after banging her head on the turf in a tackle.

While 12 days is her minimum stand-down period from matches, Kildunne can only begin her individual training on Thursday morning at the earliest, with a return to team sessions only possible after all her symptoms have cleared.

Players, on average, take longer than the minimum period to pass medical checks and become available for matches.

England's path through the draw means their semi-final would be on 20 September - 14 days after Kildunne sustained her concussion.

World Rugby have added lights to players' smart mouthguards at this tournament so they flash when a player is in a collision that exceeds a set level of force, in addition to the existing alert they send to doctors on the touchlines.

Kildunne headed down the tunnel after the incident, but returned to watch the remainder of the game from the bench, offering a smile and wave to the fans when she was shown on the big screen.

The Red Roses were also forced to replace starting prop Hannah Botterman, who had to leave the field due to back spasms in the first half.

"Ellie [Kildunne] will go through return-to-play protocols," said England head coach John Mitchell.

"There is normally a 12-day stand down. She is fine. She'll be frustrated because she had a difficult day at the office. She'll get better.

"Hannah [Botterman's] got a muscle spasm, so that will take its course."

England will monitor Botterman over the next two days before making a decision over whether she restarts training with the rest of the the team on Tuesday.

Captain Zoe Aldcroft missed England's pool-stage wins over Samoa and Australia with a knee injury, but was back in contact training earlier this week and is expected to be available to face Scotland on Sunday, 14 September at Ashton Gate, Bristol.

Fly-half Holly Aitchison, who had been kept out of England's first two games by an ankle injury, made her tournament debut off the bench in the win over Australia in a piece of good news for Mitchell.

Kildunne and Botterman were arguably England's best players in their tournament-opening win over the USA with Kildunne praised for her selfless display.

BBC Sport's Rugby Union Weekly host Sara Orchard described Botterman as giving a "statement performance" in that game, highlighting her importance.

The good news for England is they have considerable strength in depth. Botterman was replaced by Kelsey Clifford on Saturday and she went on to score two second-half tries.

Kildunne was replaced by Helena Rowland, whose kicking in her previous match, England's big win over Samoa, helped her rack up 27 points, while Emma Sing is another option for the number 15 jersey in Bristol.

Analysis

Mike Henson, BBC rugby union news reporter:

An electric runner, skilful with both her hands and boot, who never shirks the tough stuff - any side in the world would miss Ellie Kildunne.

The good news for England is that they are also better set than any to absorb her loss.

Helena Rowland was Kildunne's direct replacement off the bench in Brighton and was superb in her 34 minutes on the pitch.

Winning her 43rd cap, the Loughborough Lightning playmaker was dangerous in attack and produced a superb tackle when isolated against the pace of Wallaroos' wing Maya Stewart out wide.

A less experienced option would be to promote Gloucester-Hartpury's Emma Sing, who filled the role in Kildunne's absence for this year's Six Nations decider against France.

Sing is probably the best kicker in the Red Roses squad, striking the ball prodigous distances, and is a rangy runner with a powerful hand-off.

Mitchell may prefer to keep Rowland and her versatility on the replacements bench, as she has played across the England backline and even been touted as a stand-in scrum-half.

If England advance beyond Scotland and Kildunne is still not available, what they might miss in the semi-final is her presence and popularity.

A veteran of the World Cup final defeat by New Zealand three years ago, she has spoken with steely calm about the chance to go one better on home soil, while her name consistently registers the most decibels when the teams are announced to the crowd at this tournament.

She is a talisman that England would love to have to hand as the tournament gets to its business end.