Saints hooker Hartley to miss Harlequins clash

Saints hooker Dylan Hartley will miss Sunday's clash with Harlequins due to the head injury he sustained in England's game against France last weekend.
Dylan Hartley will miss Saints' clash with Harlequins on Sunday (picture: Kirsty Edmonds)Dylan Hartley will miss Saints' clash with Harlequins on Sunday (picture: Kirsty Edmonds)
Dylan Hartley will miss Saints' clash with Harlequins on Sunday (picture: Kirsty Edmonds)

Hartley was stretchered off during the second half of the 31-21 success at Stade de France, where Eddie Jones’s men secured the Grand Slam.

The Saints star returned to the field after the match to give a final team talk and lift the Six Nations trophy, but he has since admitted that he cannot remember picking up the silverware.

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He returned to Franklin’s Gardens this week and has been undergoing the necessary concussion protocols.

But Hartley, who celebrated his 30th birthday today (Thursday), will not be ready to face Quins at the Gardens this weekend.

“Dylan is great, but obviously he took a bang to the head last weekend so he won’t be playing this weekend,” said Saints attack coach Alex King.

“He’s going through all of the necessary medical protocols, which are crucial and we respect, and we’ll listen to people more qualified than myself before he comes back playing.

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“It’s out of our hands. It’s with people more clever than I am.

“He’ll come back whenever he’s ready.”

But one piece of good news is that Luther Burrell has recovered from the quad strain that has kept him out of the past two games.

“Luther’s back in training so he’s available,” King said.

“He had a slight quad strain, but he’s trained well and he wants to finish the season well.

“We’ve got some good options there.”

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