England four ruled out
Mike Tindall could miss the rest of the Six Nations.
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Sunday, 03, Feb 2008 08:03
England's rocky start to their RBS Six Nations campaign has been hampered by the loss of four players to injury.
Gloucester centre Mike Tindall was taken off during the first half of Saturday's 26-19 defeat to Wales and is unlikely to play any further part in the tournament after sustaining bruising to his liver.
And coach Brian Ashton's woes have been compounded by the news that David Strettle, Tom Rees and Lewis Moody have been ruled unfit to play in next week's clash against Italy in Rome.
Harlequins winger Strettle was another early withdrawal during the Twickenham loss and has injured the fifth metatarsal bone in his left foot, having been forced to withdraw from England's World Cup squad after fracturing the same bone.
Wasps flanker Rees has damaged the medial collateral ligament in his left knee while Leicester's Moody is to undergo a specialist review of his Achilles tendon, having been forced off just 13 minutes into the World Cup finalists opening Six Nations match.
Tindall, a veteran of England's 2003 World Cup-winning side, had only recently returned to the England squad, having missed the 2007 World Cup with a broken leg.
His withdrawal leaves Ashton with a tough decision, with Newcastle's Jamie Noon a like-for-like replacement for Tindall and Falcons colleague Matthew Tait - a surprise omission from the squad to face Wales - likely to merit a return to the fold.
Strettle's injury could allow rugby league convert Lesley Vainikolo to make his first test start in Rome, while Saturday debutant Luke Narraway may switch from number eight to open side after Rees' knee problem.