Mitchell injury blow adds to England’s woes as Northampton sink Gloucester

• Northampton 28-14 Gloucester

• Alex Mitchell limps off with suspected hamstring pull

England’s injury headaches are mounting before next Sunday’s autumn opener against Australia with the scrum-half Alex Mitchell a major doubt after limping out of Northampton’s hard-fought victory over Gloucester with another hamstring problem.

It is to the credit of Northampton that they weathered that setback, withheld Gloucester’s early onslaught to score 28 unanswered points and see off the early-season pace-setters. Northampton’s last league outing here ended with 119 points scored but this was a victory founded on their defensive resilience with Tom Pearson, back in the England picture this autumn, outstanding throughout.