Speculation surrounding the future of Owen Farrell has come as a “shock to absolutely everyone”, says his Saracens and England team-mate Jamie George.
Fly-half Farrell, 32, has been linked with a move to French side Racing 92 at the end of this season.
The French club have denied having an agreement in place to sign England’s record points scorer, who is currently taking a break from Test rugby.
“We don’t know whether he’s leaving or not,” George told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“The speculation only broke recently so it came as a shock to absolutely everyone.
“I think Owen’s quite a private person generally. Myself and Owen are very close so it’s something we probably will have a conversation about but I haven’t spoken to him about it yet.
“Ultimately it’s his decision, whatever he wants to do, whether he stays or goes.
“I know he’s going to be choosing the right thing for him and his family.”
Farrell will be unavailable for the upcoming Six Nations, and George is among the candidates to replace him as captain.
Head coach Steve Borthwick is expected to announce his new skipper when he names his squad on 17 January and hooker George says he would be “flattered to be in the conversation”.
The 33-year-old added: “I know it’s easier said than done but I don’t think I’d allow that captaincy position to change my thought process or how much I read into the media and the scrutiny that might come with it.
“I generally try and stay level-headed.
“Obviously I’ve never been captain of my country before and if that does happen, that is something that I would have to assess.
“But I’m lucky that I’ve got really good people around me and I’m just flattered to be in the conversation.”
‘It’s an unfortunate part of the job’
Farrell has stepped down from the England fold in order to protect his and his family’s mental wellbeing and Borthwick has told the BBC the Rugby Football Union will be examining how to support players in the face of “horrendous” online abuse.
George says Farrell has been “courageous” in wanting to prioritise his mental health.
“We all have to deal with it and it’s an unfortunate part of the job,” said George.
“I try my best not to read too much. I certainly stay off Twitter [now known as X] and don’t read too much of the media, and I think that’s served me pretty well.
“My message to everyone having been through it with Owen recently is that we’re human beings. We make mistakes and it’s not overly beneficial writing negative things about people online, and we really hope we can see a change with that.
“I think it’s been incredibly courageous from Owen to step away from international rugby to put his mental health first and hopefully that’s a sign to people that we are human beings, we do have families and it can be very very hurtful.”
