Maro Itoje is in grave danger of missing England's autumn Tests, as Saracens are set to confirm that their lock prodigy broke a hand in the victory over the Scarlets on Saturday.

The 21-year-old European Player of the Year was led off early in the second half of the Champions Cup encounter at Allianz Park, having been in evident pain when the injury was assessed on the field.

He was sent for a scan after the game and Sportsmail understands that it revealed a fracture - although the exact severity is unclear.

Maro Itoje could miss England's autumn Tests after suffering a suspected fractured hand

MARO ITOJE Born: October 29. 1994 (Camden, London) Clubs: Saracens Appearances: 57 Caps: 7 Advertisement

This is a huge setback for Eddie Jones, the England coach, whose plans for the series at Twickenham next month are being undermined by a growing casualty list.

Jones was already coming to terms with the enforced absence of James Haskell, George Kruis, Anthony Watson, Jack Nowell, Manu Tuilagi, Sam Jones and Mike Williams for part or all of the campaign against South Africa, Fiji, Argentina and Australia.

The 21-year-old was substituted during Saracens' 44-26 victory over Scarlets on Saturday

The likely loss of Itoje would be a major blow, given his emergence as a world-class forward. He was being considered to fill in at openside, but the loss of Kruis, his second row partner for club and country, has complicated the equation.

If Itoje is ruled out, Jones would surely resurrect the lock alliance of Courtney Lawes and Joe Launchbury, while Bath pair Dave Attwood and Charlie Ewels could claim squad places.

With a dwindling list of No 7 candidates to choose from, Teimana Harrison may be the leading option again.

The likely loss of Itoje would be a major blow, given his emergence as a world-class forward

The New Zealand-born flanker started on Saturday as Northampton were thrashed 41-7 by Castres in France - a result which brought an angry response from his club captain, Tom Wood.

'We were never in it,' he said. 'The desperation that we brought last week we didn't have this week. I'm ashamed to admit that.

'We need to do a bit of soul-searching this week and make sure we find the answers.'

Northampton's mis-match also caused an injury scare for Wales head coach Rob Howley, as George North suffered a hand injury in the second half.