Feyi-Waboso out of England's autumn with ankle injury, as Sinfield hails "our Jason Robinson"

England assistant coach Kevin Sinfield has compared winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso to one of the great names in English rugby. "He is our Jason Robinson," Sinfield said. The praise comes at a difficult moment, because Feyi-Waboso will miss the rest of England's autumn campaign with an ankle injury.

Robinson was a rugby league star before he switched to union, the 15-a-side game, and he became one of England's best-known wings. He scored 28 tries in 51 appearances for England between 2001 and 2007. Sinfield knows him well from their league days, when the two played against each other.

Feyi-Waboso hurt his ankle in the 32nd minute of England's 45-22 win over Australia. He played on until half-time before being replaced. The injury ends his autumn, and England will now look elsewhere in their back line.

It has been a stop-start run for the 2024 debutant. He missed the 2025 Six Nations with a shoulder injury. His 2026 Six Nations ended when he hurt his hamstring in training before England's opening win over Wales. He came back in the summer and scored in wins over Fiji and Argentina.

Then came a facial fracture. England signed off his return for June's Premiership final only three weeks later, which tells you how keen the squad were to have him back. Since his Test debut against Italy in 2024, he has scored nine tries in 17 England appearances.

England have the final say over the fitness and conditioning of centrally contracted players such as Feyi-Waboso, meaning the national team's staff decide when a player is ready for Test rugby. That is the context behind the decisions around his return this year.

England's squad also has other gaps to fill. Ollie Chessum, George Furbank and Seb Atkinson are unavailable for the match against Japan. Tom Curry is out of the autumn campaign with a hip problem that has got worse.

In Feyi-Waboso's place, Saracens' Noah Caluori has been called up. The 20-year-old made a try-scoring England debut against Fiji in July, and he now has the chance to show what he can do at this level again.

Sinfield's comparison is a big one to live up to. Robinson's name carries weight in England's history, and Feyi-Waboso has shown flashes of the same pace and finishing. For now, though, the focus is on his recovery.