Boss Johnson ready to learn extent of England’s injury hell
ENGLAND manager Martin Johnson will today realise the extent of a horrendous injury list as he names a revised squad for the upcoming autumn internationals.
Johnson’s England host Australia at Twickenham on 7 November before facing back-to-back Tests against Argentina and New Zealand.
But the boss’ plans have been severely wrecked by no fewer than 12 injury casualties, paving the way for a raft of uncapped players.
One man fully aware of the task at hand is captain Steve Borthwick, but the Saracens man remains adamant the team will cope with any setbacks.
“I don’t know the severity of our injuries but I do know the medical staff will be busy this week,” he said after his side’s victory over Leeds yesterday. “This will be a test of our squad because we need to start building a team immediately and not concern ourselves worrying too much about those guys who are missing.”
Leicester veteran Julian White became the latest crock after tearing his hamstring just five minutes into Tigers’ 18-12 defeat to London Irish, prompting fears that Johnson may struggle to fill the badly-hit front row.
White joins Andrew Sheridan (shoulder), Lee Mears (knee) and Phil Vickery (neck) on the sidelines for the whole series, joining full-back Delon Armitage and centre Riki Flutey. Scrum-half Harry Ellis, lock Simon Shaw and Harlequins’ Nick Easter are also doubtful.
Johnson, however, will have the luxury of calling upon record points scorer Jonny Wilkinson with the fly-half currently enjoying life in France with Toulon.
Wilkinson helped mastermind a Challenge Cup victory over Saracens last week and Borthwick is a big fan. “His game management against us was superb. It’s not just about his kicking it’s Jonny’s whole game which is excellent.”