The Bath full-back Nick Abendanon has become the latest victim of England's continuing injury jinx amid fears that a toe problem could force him to miss the entire November Test programme. The 22-year-old has been advised to rest his troublesome left big toe for between two and four weeks, ruling him out of contention for Saturday week's opening encounter with the Pacific Islands.
Only last week the England management effectively nominated Abendanon as their preferred starting full-back when they promoted him into the senior squad at the expense of the out-of-form Tom Varndell. The team manager, Martin Johnson, has also released Josh Lewsey back to Wasps, leaving Mathew Tait as the only surviving full-back from the original 32-man elite squad. As Tait has a suspect hamstring and has not been a regular at No15 for Sale this season, an unexpected role for London Irish's uncapped Delon Armitage looms ever larger.
Johnson is not due to confirm his starting line-up until Tuesday and "has no plans at this stage" to summon any more replacements. The fitness of Tait and the similarly hamstrung Luke Narraway of Gloucester remains up in the air, however, and Johnson is increasingly short of depth in certain positions. Jonny Wilkinson and Lewis Moody are already sidelined, with the Leicester hooker George Chuter also out of action this weekend after twisting his left knee in training on Tuesday.
If Tait pulls up lame, there is a possibility England will find themselves fielding three debutants in their back division in the shape of Armitage, the Harlequins wing Ugo Monye and the Wasps centre Riki Flutey, all good players but with no history as a collective unit. Abendanon is hardly a grizzled veteran but he has been one of the most impressive performers in this season's Guinness Premiership and has looked more than capable of solving a recurring English problem.
Apart from Jason Robinson, none of the recent wearers of the No15 jersey - a list which includes Lewsey, Tom Voyce, Mark Cueto, Olly Morgan, Iain Balshaw, Mike Brown and Tait - has made it his own. Abendanon's pace, vision and improving defence had clearly caught Johnson's eye but the player's hopes of facing the South Sea Islanders evaporated after an examination by England's medical team. They decided to send him for a scan and, while no operation on the big toe joint is required, Abendanon has been told to rest for at least a fortnight.
The rest of the squad continued their preparations in Bagshot yesterday and will sit out this weekend's EDF Energy Cup matches under the terms of the eight-year agreement between the Rugby Football Union and the clubs. The main reason for the deal was the RFU's desire for the national team's coaches to spend more time with a fit, healthy group of players. So far, sod's law has consistently applied.
The SANZAR nations, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia, have failed to agree a common position on the International Board's experimental law variations. As a result the 2009 Tri-Nations and Super 14 tournaments will be played under the same set of laws as this season.
