Owen Farrell fitness update as Saracens make bold call after his late Lions call-up

Owen Farrell is set for an immediate return to English club rugby and a second Saracens debut against Newcastle Red Bulls on Friday night. 

Farrell rejoined his boyhood club this summer after an injury-interrupted campaign in France with Racing 92. 

The 34-year-old was a late call-up to the successful British & Irish Lions tour of Australia after he recovered from the concussion that hindered the end of his time in Paris. 

England’s leading Lions stars, such as Maro Itoje, won’t feature in the new season of PREM Rugby until round three under player welfare guidelines. 

But the fact Farrell has played so little rugby over the course of 2025 means he is set to go straight back into the Saracens side at Kingston Park for the league’s opening weekend. 

'He’s been back in training with us for the past five weeks and is available,’ Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall said of Farrell. ‘He’s been superb and great around the younger players by giving his time.’ 

Farrell is a Saracens icon and helped the London club to six English domestic league titles and three European crowns in his first spell. 

His second stint with McCall’s men will begin against a Newcastle side buoyed by their Red Bull takeover. 

Newcastle won just two league games last season, but one of those was a 17-12 home success over Saracens in November. 

Farrell stepped away from international rugby after the 2023 World Cup, first for mental health reasons. 

He was unable to play Tests while with Racing due to being based abroad. 

But his Saracens return means he is now back available to national coach Steve Borthwick although Farrell wasn’t picked for England’s first training camp of the season.

'They’re a club on the up with a real feelgood factor. They’ve made some smart signings and we know how tough it is to go up there,’ McCall said of Newcastle. 

England captain Itoje is back in full training with Saracens after recovering from a concussion he suffered at the end of the Lions tour, but won’t be in action until mid-October. 

The same goes for centre Elliot Daly who broke an arm in Australia this summer – an injury which ruled him out of the Lions Test series. 

‘You don’t want to bring people back too soon,’ McCall said of Daly. 

‘It’s the kind of injury he could keep running on so his fitness is where it needs to be. 

'As soon as he gets the all-clear from the consultant, he’ll be able to start playing.’ 

Wales back and two-time Saracens star Liam Williams has joined Newcastle for the season, but he is unlikely to feature against his old club on Friday while he relocates to the north east this week from his home on the outskirts of Cardiff.