Jonny Wilkinson 'ruled out of autumn internationals'
Wilkinson could be ruled out due to injury
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Sunday, 31, Oct 2010 11:54
By Asha Stuttard
England fly-half Jonny Wilkinson will not be playing in this autumn's four international rugby matches after being ruled out for four weeks with a shoulder injury.
The Toulon player sustained the injury while playing for his side last weekend.
Sale's Charlie Hodgson will replace the 31-year-old in Martin Johnson's 32-man squad.
England's first Test is against New Zealand on November 6th. They will go on to face Australia, Samoa and South Africa on consecutive Saturdays for the rest of the month.
On Tuesday, Wilkinson had scan on his shoulder after reportedly feeling pain in it.
Johnson said: "As I said on Wednesday, Jonny was being assessed day-by-day and we would have a better idea of where he was in terms of the injury by the end of this week.
"It's clear that Jonny will need a period of rehab of around four weeks
and this will be carried out in conjunction with Toulon."
Recently, Wilkinson was offered a new contract at Toulon worth nearly £700,000 a year, which should see him through to the end of his career.