England coach Stuart Lancaster wiill be without six key players including flank Tom Croft and lock Courtney Lawes for the tour of South Africa in June.
Leicester loose forward Croft, who had such a big influence on England’s encouraging Six Nations campaign, suffered a neck injury in the Tigers’ Premiership clash with Harlequins two weeks ago and will have to undergo surgery which will rule out for four to six months.
Northampton Saints lock Lawes missed most of the Six Nations through injury, and has not recovered in time to make the trip to South Africa. He is joined on the injured list by Joe Simpson, Tom Wood, Charlie Sharples and Rob Webber.
Powerful loose forward Wood has not recovered from the foot injury that kept him out of the Six Nations campaignwhile Gloucester wing Sharples is to undergo shoulder surgery next week.
The news will come as a further blow to Lancaster who revealed former World Cup winner Mike Catt as an assistant coach after Chiefs backline guru Wayne Smith rejected his offer to join the England coaching set-up.
One player who may well make Lancaster’s squad is young Leicester flyhalf George Ford who was not named in the England Under-20 team for the Junior World Championships which will also be in South Africa in June, fuelling speculation that he will be with the senior team instead.
Lancaster’s team showed impressive fighting spirit in the Six Nations, and they will need to show more character when they take on the Springboks on their home turf under new coach Heyneke Meyer.