Saints hooker Hartley set for Wednesday hearing

The Saints hooker was sent off for striking Leinster flanker Sean O’Brien in the face during last Friday’s 37-10 Champions Cup clash with Leinster - just six minutes after entering the action as a second-half replacement.

It was Hartley’s first game back at Saints since skippering England to victory against Australia.

That win ensured England finished the year with a 100 per cent record, having won all 13 of the games they have played since Hartley was given the captaincy by boss Eddie Jones in January.

But while he has impressed for his country, Hartley has only played nine times for Saints during 2016, winning six of those matches.

And he now looks set to miss the remainder of the year, with the three-man disciplinary panel likely to issue him with a ban.