Fin Smith emerges as doubt for start of Six Nations with calf injury

England rugby fly half Fin Smith has emerged as a doubt for the start of the Six Nations after sustaining a calf injury.

Smith was a late withdrawal from Northampton Saints’s defeat to Bordeaux Begles in the Investec Champions Cup last weekend, and will miss their final pool fixture against the Scarlets on Sunday.

The 23-year-old is awaiting the results of a scan on the issue to determine its severity, with his participation in the opening rounds of the Six Nations perhaps in doubt. England open their campaign against Wales at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham on Saturday 7 February.

"We're still waiting to see how long that is from a scan point of view," said Northampton director of rugby Phil Dowson.

"It's probably minimum two weeks, but with a muscle injury it's hard to give a timeline beyond that. It's not months and months and he's not going to be back this weekend, so somewhere in between that."

Smith lost his starting place at No 10 to George Ford in November, starting only against Fiji with Steve Borthwick preferring the veteran in his side’s three other games.

The Northampton playmaker toured Australia with the British and Irish Lions last summer and recently extended his contract at Saints.

Borthwick is due to name his squad for the Six Nations next Friday, with England set to head to Girona for a pre-tournament training camp.

Northampton sit third in Pool 4 entering the final round of fixtures, behind Bordeaux Begles and Bristol, who also meet on Sunday. A win over the Scarlets could be enough to secure a top-two finish in the pool and earn a home round of 16 tie.