Jonny Wilkinson, who has not played for England since dropping the goal that won the 2003 World Cup final in Sydney, was yesterday ruled out of the start of the Six Nations Championship by his club Newcastle.

The Falcons conditioning coach Steve Black said that the 27-year-old Wilkinson, who was this week named in the England squad for the Six Nations despite not playing since November 3 when he suffered a lacerated kidney against Bristol, said the fly-half would not be rushed back into action after the latest of a number of setbacks since the World Cup.

At the time Wilkinson was hurt against Bristol, his director of rugby John Fletcher anticipated he would be out for between eight and 12 weeks with Black saying yesterday the latter figure was the correct one and that the player would not be ready to face Scotland at Twickenham on February 3. "It would be foolhardy to rush Jonny back," said Black. "He needs times to adjust to the playing environment and we need to get him back on to the field for Newcastle [for whom he has only made three starts this season]. Jonny was very sore after the injury, but that has subsided now. A fit Jonny Wilkinson is a major bonus to the England squad, but he will only return when he is ready.

"He is fit and strong and his recovery levels are high: he has had a lot of practice at recovering, but I do not accept that he will always be injury prone. The latest setback was a freak injury to a part of the body which is very difficult to protect."

One of Ireland's fly-halves in the 2003 World Cup, David Humphreys, hopes to be back in action before the end of the month after fears that he had broken his arm during Ulster's Magner's League defeat at Leinster on Sunday were allayed. A scan has revealed he had suffered soft tissue damage and bruising.

Leinster yesterday re-signed the Ireland A flanker Shane Jennings from Leicester on a three-year contract, 18 months after losing the 25-year-old to the Tigers. Jennings, whose recent form has helped put Leicester within a point of the Premiership leaders Bristol, believes he will stand a better chance of being selected by Ireland if he is playing in the country.

"The news is a great disappointment," said the Leicester head coach Pat Howard, who himself is returning home in the summer when he moves back to Australia. "Shane has made his decision for family reasons and Ireland's current selection policy and I fully understand his reasoning. He has had two fantastic years with us and will be missed."

Leinster's chief executive Mick Dawson added: "We are delighted that Shane has re-signed. He is an accomplished forward who will add greater competition to the back row. He has shown outstanding leadership qualities throughout his career and we look forward to welcoming him home next summer."

Worcester's flanker Pat Sanderson, who was this week dropped from the England squad having been a fixture in the side last November and leading his country in Australia last summer, said he would not leave the Warriors even if the club, who are bottom of the Premiership, were relegated at the end of the season.

"I have no intention of going anywhere," said Sanderson, the Worcester captain. "I want to be here for my playing future, regardless of what happens. I love this club: we feel part of the Premiership and want to remain in it. We have got a huge spirit here and we are a very tight team. A lot of other sides would have split and I am confident that our qualities will pull us through."

Wales's prop John Yapp has been ruled out for the rest of the season after rupturing a cruciate knee ligament. The 23-year-old loose-head picked up the injury in Cardiff Blues' 29-10 defeat of Llanelli Scarlets at the Arms Park on new year's day.

Yapp figured in all five games of the victorious 2005 grand slam campaign, but has since been on the fringes of the Wales team. His last appearance for his country was in the 27-25 defeat to Argentina in June.