Saracens set to bring in short-term replacements with Maro Itoje moving to back-row as injuries spiral

Billy Vunipola, Schalk Burger and Michael Rhodes are all long-term absentees

Vunipola is expected to miss the start of new year's Six Nations (Getty)

Maro Itoje is set for a spell in the back row after Mark McCall admitted Saracens are likely to sign a player on a short-term deal in a bid to solve their increasing injury crisis.

The back-to-back European champions have been hit hard in the back row already with Billy Vunipola, Schalk Burger and Michael Rhodes all ruled out.

Vunipola is expected to be out for as long as four months with a knee cartilage injury after undergoing surgery on Sunday – his third long-term injury in a year.

While the Englishman will struggle to be available for his country’s Six Nations opener, flanker Rhodes will be out for 12 weeks with a shoulder injury and Burger for around a month.

McCall is no stranger to the short-term contract market after bringing in Australian Will Skelton in after first choice locks Itoje and George Kruis were injured.

“We're assessing who is out there and if there's someone suitable then it's possible we could bring someone in,” director of rugby Mark McCall said.

“We've got some good young back rows at the club, but number eight is an area where we're potentially weak.

“Maro (Itoje) can't play at eight but he will probably play back row a lot over the next few weeks.”

Despite winning the last two Champions Cups, McCall insisted this time it feels like a “new beginning” after a change up in players over the summer, most notably with Wales and Lions star Liam Williams coming in to replace Chris Ashton.

“It feels like a new beginning for us and the quality of the Pool we are in focusses the mind,” he added.

“Franklin's Gardens away in round one goes to show how tough a pool we're in. It's a challenge we're all looking forward to.”