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London - Saracens and England centre Alex Lozowski has appealed against a reviewed two-week ban that is set to rule him out of England's opening November international against South Africa.
Lozowski was banned by an independent disciplinary committee after being cited for dangerous play at a ruck during Saracens' European Champions Cup victory over Glasgow earlier this month.
Officials initially ruled the 25-year-old would miss last weekend's Champions Cup tie and the Premiership Cup match against Leicester on Saturday before becoming available on October 29.
The Premiership Cup, as opposed to England's top division Premiership, is designed mainly as a tournament for emerging players but one for which Lozowski was eligible.
Nevertheless, following Lozowski's call-up to the England squad for the November internationals and their ongoing training camp in Portugal, European Professional Club Rugby's independent disciplinary review adjusted the matches that would be covered by the suspension on the grounds he was unlikely to play in the Premiership Cup fixture in any event.
"The player is appealing against the initial finding that the alleged act of foul play warranted a red card, and against a subsequent review of the sanction which found that his period of suspension should be extended," EPCR said in a statement issued Thursday.
But there was a fresh complication on Thursday when EPCR said it had appealed against the independent disciplinary committee's decision to dismiss a second citing complaint against Lozowski arising from the Glasgow match.
Lozowski was also cited for an alleged dangerous tackle on Glasgow fullback Ruaridh Jackson, but the committee decided that incident did not warrant a red card and dismissed the complaint.
Both appeals will be heard in London on Friday.
England face the Springboks at Twickenham on November 3.
