England winger Chris Ashton to miss entire Six Nations campaign after being banned for 10 weeks
Chris Ashton will miss England's entire Six Nations campaign after being suspended for 10 weeks for eye gouging Ulster centre Luke Marshall.
The 28-year-old was recalled to the England squad by new head coach Eddie Jones last week, after falling out of favour under previous boss Stuart Lancaster.
But the Saracens winger will now have to wait for his chance to return to the international stage after a disciplinary hearing issued the 10-week suspension for "making contact with the eye" in the European Champions Cup match against Ulster last weekend.
He has the opportunity to appeal the judgement and had an initial 13-week suspension reduced "due to Ashton's good character and good conduct at the hearing".
Yet he will not be able to return until 28 March – over a week after England's last Six Nations fixture.
Ashton, who has been capped 39 times for England, has not played test rugby since 2014 but has enjoyed good form for his club side this year, scoring five tries since the end of November.