Olly Barkley has emerged as England's latest injury victim after being hurt in the same training session which ruled Andy Farrell out of tomorrow's World Cup quarter-final against Australia.
Saracens centre Farrell will miss the game because of a strained calf muscle suffered when he chased a kick.
And Barkley, who is among the contenders to replace him, is nursing a dead leg.
England head coach Brian Ashton will not make any public announcement about Farrell's replacement until this lunchtime, but Barkley, 36-year-old Mike Catt and Toby Flood are the alternatives.
Ashton must decide whether or not to promote Barkley off the bench, go with the vastly-experienced Catt - a 2003 World Cup winner - or hand Flood a first appearance since he arrived in France as a replacement for his Newcastle colleague Jamie Noon.
The smart money is on Catt making a first start since he played at fly-half in England's record 36-0 World Cup defeat against South Africa at Stade de France 20 days ago.
England are aiming for a semi-final showdown against New Zealand or France in Paris.
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