England captain Steve Borthwick will return to competitive action in Saracens' Amlin Challenge Cup pool game against Toulon on October 15.
Borthwick missed Saracens’ fifth straight win of the Guinness Premiership season, 22-15 away to Newcastle Falcons yesterday.
The lock required five stitches after an alleged kick in the face from Gloucester hooker Olivier Azam in Saracens’ previous match left him with “extreme swelling”.
However, he has made a swift recovery and is expected to be fit to lead England in their three autumn internationals next month.
Saracens director of rugby Brendan Venter said: “He will be ready for Toulon but I will give him a week’s break against Rovigo next week. From an England point of view, it will mean he is nice and fresh when they start playing again.
“This week was an automatic week off but I want to give him one more week.”