Tom Curry has emerged as a major doubt for England’s autumn opener against Australia on Sunday, handing Steve Borthwick a huge blow before a crucial November campaign, with twin brother Ben leading the race to start at openside flanker.

It is understood that Tom Curry sustained his latest injury during Wednesday’s full bore training session, throwing Borthwick’s plans for his back-row configuration into disarray. Borthwick will finalise his team selection before announcing it on Friday afternoon but as things stand, Ben is in pole position to wear the No7 jersey.

Losing Tom Curry would be a huge blow for Borthwick, who is understood to be desperate to win the physical battle against the Wallabies on Sunday. At last week’s mini-camp Borthwick is understood to have held ferocious contact training sessions in an effort to bring his players up to speed. Both Kepu Tuipulotu and Archie McParland sustained injuries that have ruled them out of contention this weekend.

Tom Curry has come to be used as an impact replacement by Borthwick but with Guy Pepper and Sam Underhill both missing the autumn campaign with injuries, he was widely tipped to start this November. Last summer he demonstrated how effective he can be against Australia, setting the tone in the first Test victory for the British & Irish Lions with a monumental display in Brisbane.

Ben, meanwhile, has not started for England since the 2025 summer tour of Argentina and the USA and has been plagued by long-term hamstring injuries since then. He is held in high regard by Borthwick, however, and would be tasked with nullifying the breakdown threat posed by the Wallabies. Henry Pollock and Greg Fisilau are other options who may end up on the replacements bench if Tom Curry is ruled out.