England head coach Simon Middleton said his players found it "tough to take" watching their "great friend" Abby Dow suffer a serious leg injury in Saturday's win against Wales.
The full-back cried out in pain as she went down in an awkward tackle and play was stopped for more than 15 minutes as she received medical attention.
After Dow was stretchered off, England responded with their opening try.
Middleton said despite the immediate reaction it "rattled" the side.
"It's tough to take for the players," he said.
"She's not just a quality player, she's a great friend of everyone in the team. You could feel everybody was subdued for a bit and the performance was like that which is understandable.
"Your first thoughts are for the player, then your thoughts are if their parents are in the crowd. It's a horrendous moment for your loved ones.
"It's part and parcel of contact sport sadly, but you never want to see that."
Middleton confirmed Dow had been taken to hospital but said her "medical report" was not yet ready, with doubts now cast on the 24-year-old's availability for October's World Cup.
"Obviously it didn't look great," Middleton continued.
"We'll wait and see. I haven't caught up with the medics just yet. We'll get her back as soon as we can."
'We've changed the game'
Although Dow's injury brought a dark cloud over the first half, England eventually pulled off a dominant 10-try win in front of a record crowd.
The attendance of 14,689 surpassed the previous record of 13,253 for a ticketed Red Roses home game.
England captain Sarah Hunter, whose side remain top of the Six Nations table and on course for a fourth consecutive title, described the atmosphere as "incredible".
"Just being out there signing autographs and taking photos - it's all generations and all genders," Hunter said.
"It just shows that people want to come and see. I was stood singing the anthem and thinking I don't think I've ever sung an anthem with people behind us that much.
"Out of my whole career that was the moment when I thought, 'we've changed the game'.
"This is the turning point. I hope every home game now we keep breaking record on record because it's where the game should be."
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