England’s front-row stocks have taken a hit with Sale prop Asher Opoku-Fordjour ruled out of the Six Nations by a shoulder injury.
Opoku-Fordjour, who has not played since the end of November because of an elbow problem, injured his shoulder in training last week.
“He will have surgery tomorrow in Cardiff which essentially will put him out for the next couple of months,” said Sale director of rugby Alex Sanderson.
“It is a real shocker for him, for us and for England.”
England’s Six Nations campaign begins against Wales on 7 February and concludes in France on 14 March.
Opoku-Fordjour, who has won six caps, featured against Australia and Argentina this autumn.
Although the 21-year-old can also play at loosehead, he has specialised at tighthead recently.
A serious Achilles injury has already ruled British and Irish Lion Will Stuart out of the Six Nations, leaving options on that side of the front row badly depleted.
Gloucester’s Afolabi Fasogbon, who won the Under-20 Rugby World Cup alongside Opoku-Fordjour in 2024, and Northampton’s 33-year-old Trevor Davison are among the contenders to step up.
The importance of Leicester’s Joe Heyes, who has enjoyed a superb six months at tighthead for his country, is now higher than ever.
“It takes a special kind of person to take on the psychological load of playing international rugby at tighthead at 19 or 20 years old anyway,” said Sanderson of Opoku-Fordjour.
“He already has that ability to handle, to reframe, to carry.
“Some people could go down rabbit holes, but he doesn’t. He just gets on with it. He is probably already looking ahead to how strong and fit and physical he is going to be when he comes back.
“That is the kind of character he is.”
Sanderson also insisted that Sale’s recruitment for next season is on track, despite suffering the disappointment of scrum-half Raffi Quirke switching to Newcastle and missing out high-profile targets such as Harlequins’ back row Chandler Cunningham-South and Leicester lock George Martin.
Co-owner Simon Orange wrote on social media, external on Tuesday that he was confident Sale would have their “best squad yet” for 2025-26, urging fans to “have some faith”.
“I would love to tell you about it, it is eating me away inside,” said Sanderson, who admitted his previous honesty about targets had hindered some of the club’s negotiations.
“Simon would not say that and leave himself open for if it didn’t happen.
“For the curious, watch this space. For the concerned, don’t worry, we are on top of it. It is a great squad, and it is going to be even better.”
