Dowson delivers Saints injury update ahead of Gloucester clash

It is a fresh blow for the black, green and gold, and their talented No.9, as he suffered a hamstring injury, on the other leg, during England’s Guinness Six Nations game against Ireland in February.

Mitchell returned from the bench in the Investec Champions Cup quarter-final defeat at Bath on April 10, and he went on to play a further four times, three of which were starts, for his club.

But he is now in a race against time to play any further part in their Gallagher PREM title push after picking up the hamstring problem during a three-day England alignment camp, which was used as preparation for July’s Nations Championship matches.

"He's pulled it,” said Saints boss Dowson when asked about Mitchell’s hamstring injury. “He's done a decent job on it.

"Our head medic, Matt Lee, sent me the (scan) picture and it's going to be a push to get him any rugby for the rest of the season for us.

"It is frustrating and every DOR (director of rugby) would say that. (England boss) Steve (Borthwick) would say that if they were injured on club time.

"It's the nature of the beast, these things happen.

"My question would be what can we learn from it and how can we mitigate the risks of it happening again?

"It's something we need to discuss both as a group of directors but also with England to say what are the risks, did you get the training you wanted?

"I don't think it was a ludicrous session in terms of volume and we've got to be careful in saying 'this session was hard' or 'this session wasn't hard'.

"It's unfortunate and maybe there are things that could be done better but I'm not going to start casting aspersions until I've spoken to (head of performance) Phil Morrow and the rest of their medical team to find out what their thoughts are in person.”

Archie McParland has been in fine form for Saints this season, with Mitchell’s fellow scrum-half being named man of the match in the recent record-breaking win against Bristol Bears.

Tom James is now ready to return from injury, while England Under-20s ace Jonny Weimann will also compete for the No.9 shirt.

"Archie has picked up a lot of experience over the past couple of years, good and bad, and it's been very good recently,” Dowson said.

"I'm pretty happy and confident with where Archie is at from an experience point of view.

"Tom James has played a ton of rugby for us. He's back fit.

"And we've got England Under-20s scrum-half Jonny Weimann, who is also exceptional and had a good training week.

"Are we disappointed to lose Mitch? Of course, because he's a British & Irish Lion and he's very, very good, but we focus now on who we do have and what they're going to bring to the table to make sure that in these knockout games they're still making decisions, going for their shots and playing right on the edge.”

James will leave Saints this summer as he heads off to Saracens.

But he is clearly determined to end his time with the black, green and gold on a high, having joined from Doncaster Knights in 2020.

"He's had a frustrating year and it's been hard for him to deal with,” Dowson said.

"He wanted to finish his Saints career on a high but it's been a bit stop-start so hopefully we can get him back into the mix, get him some game time and enjoying himself.

"In his understated way, he's been exceptional - and I wouldn't say that lightly.

"I think he's been one of the best signings we've made, his contribution on and off the field going about his business and how he's performed at times, has been exceptional.

"I've got so much respect for him as a person.”

On McParland, Dowson added: “This season has been a breakout year for him and he's really shown what he's capable of. The Bristol game magnified that.

"His ability to attack around the fringes, his kicking is good, defensively he's been excellent, so across the board, Archie is in a really good vein of form.

"He's in a much more confident place now in terms of whatever happens, he's on to the next thing and he's feeling good about his game.”

Trevor Davison and Edoardo Todaro are both out for the rest of the season due to knee injuries, but there is some better news when it comes to Curtis Langdon, Cleopas Kundiona, Tom Lockett and James Ramm.

"Curtis Langdon is on his way back,” said Dowson of the England hooker, who has been recovering from thumb surgery. “Not sure if he'll make this week.”

On Lockett, who had to withdraw before the game at Leicester Tigers on May 9, the Saints boss said: “He's good. He's training."

When asked about Ramm, who hasn't played since suffering a hamstring injury against Castres Olympique on April 3, Dowson said: “He’s training.”

And on Zimbabwe tighthead prop Kundiona, who had to come off against Bath on April 25, Dowson said: “He’s training.”

Saints host Gloucester on Saturday before travelling to Harlequins for their final game of the regular season a week later.

The PREM play-offs take place on the second weekend of June.