Dylan Hartley to return from knee injury before end of season

Northampton Saints director of rugby Chris Boyd has revealed that England skipper Dylan Hartley will make a comeback from a knee injury before the end of the ongoing season.

The 6ft hooker has been out of action since December after sustaining a knee injury that has kept him on the sidelines for a lengthy period forcing him to miss the Six Nations tournament for England with Jamie George taking his place.

Hartley, whose career has been hampered by a series of injuries is just three short of making to the 100-Test milestone for the red rose team and with the World Cup around the corner has been a vital cog in Eddie Jones' plans.

Boyd provided an update on Hartley following Northampton's win over Leicester Tigers stating that the 33-year-old will return to the action between three to six weeks.

"Dylan has been to the specialist. It was really positive," Boyd said.

"I'm not sure when, but I'm really optimistic Dylan will play some football before the end of the season.

"He might be three to six weeks, but he's in a really good space."

England's next game will be on 2nd June when they face Barbarians and will play warm-up games against Wales (home and away) along with matches against Ireland and Italy before they head to Japan for the showpiece event.