England will have to wait a little longer to discover if Simon Shaw stands any chance of featuring in their final two games of the Six Nations, against Scotland and France. The 37-year-old lock is to have a further MRI scan on his left shoulder this week, having already been examined by a specialist since damaging the joint against Ireland.

The England medical staff are insisting no decision on treatment will be made until Shaw's scan has been fully reviewed but the absence of a swift diagnosis would suggest an operation is still possible. Either way, a change seems likely in the second row at Murrayfield, with Leicester's Louis Deacon seemingly ahead of Northampton's Courtney Lawes in the pecking order.

Delon Armitage's rib cartilage injury, meanwhile, is being monitored, with Ben Foden standing by. Apart from Deacon, Foden and the Bath prop Dave Wilson, all the other non-starting members of the team are back with their clubs and are available for Premiership duty this weekend. With four Sunday fixtures scheduled, however, Johnson will have to hope that his preferred bench choices emerge unscathed.

The Irish hooker Jerry Flannery's appeal against his six-week ban for kicking the French wing Alexis Palisson will be heard in London tomorrow.