Bath confirm flanker Guy Pepper will miss England's Nations Championship games, while fly-half Santi Carreras is done for the season.
Bath have taken a double hit. The club has confirmed that flanker Guy Pepper will not be available for England's Nations Championship fixtures, and that fly-half Santi Carreras will play no further part in the current season.
Pepper's absence removes a dynamic option from the back row just as England's squad plans for the competition take shape. Coaches will now have to look at other loose forwards to fill the gap, and the selection debate in that department has just become more open.
For Carreras, the news brings a frustrating end to his campaign. The fly-half had been among the playmakers on the radar at Bath, and his early exit leaves the club short of creativity at 10 for the closing stretch of the season.
Both setbacks come at an awkward time for club and country. Bath will have to reshuffle their options, while England must finalise their plans for the Nations Championship without one of their back-row names.
