Toulon president Mourad Boudjellal has admitted that Chris Ashton’s future in France is uncertain as the prolific wing weighs up a move back to the Premiership.

Answering questions from fans in a Facebook live chat, Boudjellal hinted that “family problems” and the lure of the international stage had encouraged Ashton to seek a release from his three-year contract with Toulon.

The 31 year-old’s sole season in France so far saw him break the Top 14 try-scoring record. Ashton crossed the whitewash 24 times in 23 league matches, and then landed a hat-trick for the Barbarians against England at Twickenham last month.

Having previously stated that he would “love to play for England again one day”, his performance caused a stir with 15 months to go until the start of Rugby World Cup 2019.

However, with Eddie Jones only able to pick players from the Premiership, except in the case of an extraordinary injury crisis, the former Saracen would have to move back to England to add to his 39 caps.