Jonny Wilkinson will not need an operation on the knee he injured in Perpignan last Saturday, but he has been told he could be out of action for eight weeks, casting doubt over his chances of playing in the Six Nations.
The 25-year-old England captain has seen a specialist in Newcastle who confirmed the original diagnosis, made after a scan in France, that Wilkinson had strained medial ligaments.
If Wilkinson is ruled out for eight weeks, following spells of eight and two months on the sidelines last year with neck and bicep injuries, it would leave him struggling to play in England's final championship matches against Italy and Scotland.
That would leave the Lions coach Clive Woodward in a dilemma. He has said that players who have retired from international rugby would struggle to make the cut for the tour to New Zealand in the summer on the basis that the selectors were paying most attention to the Test scene.
If Wilkinson does not play in the Six Nations, he will have gone more than 18 months without appearing in an international by the time of the first Test against the All Blacks.
Wilkinson was yesterday named in England's Six Nations squad on the basis that he would be involved in the latter stages of the campaign while Matt Dawson was finally forgiven for putting television work ahead of his England responsibilities when he was recalled to the national squad by head coach Andy Robinson.
It is four months since the Wasps scrumhalf was forced to step down from the elite squad after missing training to fulfil his role as a team captain on A Question of Sport, but his improved club form and a shortage of other candidates at number nine has persuaded Robinson it is time to bury the hatchet with the streetwise 32-year-old.
Along with rivals Andy Gomarsall and Harry Ellis, therefore, Dawson will be back in an England tracksuit next week when a 42-man squad will train alongside the Leeds Rhinos rugby league side for three days as part of their Six Nations build-up.
There is another session in Loughborough on January 24th-25th after which Robinson will announce a squad of 30 for his side's opening game against Wales in Cardiff on February 5th.
Robinson hopes his scrumhalf's spell in Test exile has sharpened his appetite. "I always said I would consider bringing Matt back if I felt he was playing well for his club.
"He has demonstrated this in Wasps' recent Heineken Cup and Zurich Premiership matches and merits his return on his current form," the coach stressed.
ENGLAND SQUAD - BACKS: S Abbott (Wasps), I Balshaw (Bath), B Cohen (Northampton), M Cueto (Sale), M Dawson (Wasps), H Ellis (Leicester), A Gomarsall (Gloucester), W Greenwood (Harlequins), C Hodgson (Sale), A King (Wasps), J Lewsey (Wasps), J Noon (Newcastle), H Paul (Gloucester), J Robinson (Sale), J Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester), M Tindall (Bath), J Wilkinson (Newcastle). Forwards: S Borthwick (Bath), A Brown (Gloucester), G Chuter (Leicester), M Corry (Leicester), D Flatman (Bath), P Greening (Wasps), D Grewcock (Bath), A Hazell (Gloucester), R Hill (Saracens), B Kay (Leicester), L Moody (Leicester), G Rowntree (Leicester), S Shaw (Wasps), S Thompson (Northampton), A Titterrell (Sale), P Vickery (Gloucester), H Vyvyan (Saracens), J White (Leicester), J Worsley (Wasps), M Worsley (Harlequins).
ENGLISH SENIOR NATIONAL ACADEMY - BACKS: O Barkley (Bath), P Christophers (Leeds), O Smith (Leicester), M Tait (Newcastle), T Voyce (Wasps). FORWARDS: A Beattie (Bath), L Deacon (Leicester), J Forrester (Gloucester), C Jones (Sale), T Palmer (Leeds), T Rees (Wasps), A Sheridan (Sale), W Skinner (Leicester), M Stevens (Bath).
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