England's leading scrum-half is set to be ruled out of the entire World Cup – just as Owen Farrell is facing an anxious wait to discover on Tuesday how much of the tournament he will have to miss.

Jack van Poortvliet was the preferred choice at No 9 throughout the last Six Nations and he was named to start in a strong Red Rose line-up against Wales at Twickenham on Saturday. 

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

While Alex Mitchell of Northampton 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 primed to act as bench reserve. 

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

Farrell will be the subject of a disciplinary hearing on Tuesday after his red card against Wales on Saturday. The national captain will appear by video link in front of a judicial panel from Australia, on a charge relating to his dismissal for a high tackle on Taine Basham at Twickenham.

Farrell is in grave danger of being suspended for up to six weeks, in light of his track record of similar offences – including earlier this year, when he received a three-game ban – reduced from four because he took part in a ‘coaching intervention’ (tackle awareness) course. 

The panel won’t have scope to show such leniency this time, so the fly-half is sure to miss at least the warm-up games against Ireland and Fiji, along with the early World Cup pool fixtures against Argentina and Japan.

Fellow England back Joe Marchant claimed that the Red Rose skipper was ‘gutted’ after the 19-17 win against a back-up Wales side, but insisted that Farrell would remain an influential presence, saying: ‘I don’t think it’ll change anything he does around the group. He is a leader. Whether he can’t play, or he can, he will give the same messages. He will still impart his wisdom.’

George Ford came off the bench to expertly steer England to victory from a bleak position, when they trailed 17-9 while reduced to 12 men. 

He is set to start the World Cup at No 10 and Borthwick said: ‘He played really well and you’d expect that. George is a great thinker about the game and is always coming forward with ideas, thoughts and improvements, his distribution skills are very good and you saw his game-management and kicking game today. We're very fortunate to have him.’