EXCLUSIVE: Jack van Poortvliet will miss the ENTIRE Rugby World Cup after injuring his ankle and Alex Mitchell was called up to substitute – as England anxiously waits to discover Owen Farrell’s fate

England’s leading scrum half will be banned from the entire World Cup – just as Owen Farrell waits anxiously to discover on Tuesday how much of the tournament he will have to miss.

Jack van Poortvliet was the favored choice at number 9 during the last Six Nations and was designated to start in a strong Red Rose line-up against Wales on Saturday at Twickenham.

But the 22-year-old Leicester prodigy was helped off after a collision with team-mate Ollie Lawrence and Mail Sport understands he has suffered a serious ankle injury, meaning he is unlikely to play a part in the global showpiece that begins next. month.

While Northampton’s Alex Mitchell will be called up to England’s squad of 33, Ben Youngs is the most likely starter at scrum half, with fellow veteran Danny Care set to act as reserve bench.

The loss of Van Poortvliet – who was so impressive in last summer’s series win over Australia – is a major setback for head coach Steve Borthwick and contributes to the sudden outbreak of England’s untimely half-back turmoil.

Farrell will be the subject of a disciplinary hearing on Tuesday following his red card against Wales on Saturday. The national captain will appear before a court panel from Australia via video link, charged with his dismissal for a high tackle on Taine Basham at Twickenham.

Farrell is in serious danger of being suspended for up to six weeks, given his record of similar offenses – including earlier this year when he was handed a three-game suspension – reduced from four for taking part in a ‘coach intervention’. ‘ (Addressing awareness) course.

The panel doesn’t have the room to be so lenient this time around, so the fly-half will definitely miss the warm-up games against Ireland and Fiji, along with the early World Cup pool games against Argentina and Japan.

Fellow England defender Joe Marchant claimed the Red Rose skipper was ‘hollowed out’ after the 19-17 win against a Welsh backup, but insisted Farrell would remain an influential presence, saying: ‘I don’t think that it will change everything he does in the group. He’s a leader. Whether he can’t play or he can, he’ll give the same messages. He will still pass on his wisdom.’

George Ford came off the bench to skillfully lead England to victory from a dismal position as they trailed 17-9 as they fell to 12 men.

He starts the World Cup ranked No. 10 and Borthwick said “He played really well and you would expect that.” George is a great thinker about the game and always comes up with ideas, thoughts and improvements, his distribution skills are very good and you saw his game management and kicking game today. We’re lucky to have him.’