England Six Nations squad: Dylan Hartley left out through injury with Jack Clifford, Dan Cole and Ollie Thorley included

Hartley has not played in nearly a month and will not feature against reigning Grand Slam champions Ireland on 2 February

Jack de Menezes

Twickenham

Thursday 17 January 2019 05:14 EST

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Dylan Hartley has been left out of the England squad (Getty Images)

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England co-captain Dylan Hartley has been left out of the Six Nations squad by Eddie Jones as he continues to struggle with a knee injury.

The Northampton Saints hooker has not been included in a 35-man squad that will travel to Portugal for a week-long training camp next Friday, 25 of which will be taken on to Dublin for their first Six Nations match against reigning Grand Slam champions Ireland.

Jones has sprung a number of surprises in his squad, with Harlequins back-row Jack Clifford recalled and Gloucester wing Ollie Thorley named, but the omission of Hartley still comes as a surprise given the leadership he offers to the group, leaving Owen Farrell to lead the squad.

“Unfortunately, Dylan won’t be available for the Ireland game so we won’t take him to Portugal but we are hopeful he will be back later in the Championship,” Jones said. “Owen will be captain by himself and he will certainly have great support from a number of senior players.”

Hartley has not played for Northampton since 21 December after struggling with a knee injury, and his omission suggests that he is unlikely to play again before the tournament gets underway. With Hartley absent, Jamie George is joined in the hooker department by Exeter’s Luke Cowan-Dickie and Worcester’s Jack Singleton.

There are returns for Leicester Tigers prop Dan Cole and Wasps lock Joe Launchbury, recalled after being dropped and injured respectively, while Exeter Chiefs centre Ollie Devoto is another surprise inclusion. Both Mako and Billy Vunipola are included as expected after returning from injury for Saracens over the last month, while Mike Brown has forced his way back into the squad with his impressive form for Quins since being dropped last autumn.

Young Saracens flanker Ben Earl is also included with Sam Underhill ruled out of the entire tournament with injury.

However, there is no Danny Care in the squad, with Ben Youngs and Dan Robson offering options at scrum-half, while Danny Cipriani’s absence continues with the Gloucester fly-half left out in favour of Farrell and George Ford.

Anthony Watson, Jonathan Joseph and Chris Robshaw are not included as they continue their comebacks from long-term injury.