"He is in Nigeria for the funeral of his mother and we are all deeply saddened for him, said Borthwick, whose side open their campaign at home to Wales on Saturday week. When I have talked to him I sense emotionally he has found it very tough, very challenging. I also sense from him that his family all going to Nigeria for the funeral is an important aspect for him."
"We've spoken a lot, said George. The parallels are scary, really. It's heartbreaking news. I know how much of a difficult time he's going through. My biggest message to him was to make sure he gives himself enough time to grieve and to process things. He's had a good opportunity to do that and is only going to come back when he's fully ready to give everything of himself to the squad."
England's Six Nations training camp in Girona will begin without captain Maro Itoje, who has travelled to Nigeria for his mother's funeral and missed the championship launch in Edinburgh. Head coach Steve Borthwick granted Itoje permission to miss the start of the training block, and the player is expected to rejoin the squad on Wednesday evening. England open their campaign at home to Wales the following week. Jamie George undertook Itoje's launch duties and spoke of parallels with his own recent bereavement, urging Itoje to take the time he needs to grieve and return fully ready.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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