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England set to name autumn squad | |
(1 day later) | |
England coach Andy Robinson will unveil a 30-man squad on Wednesday for next month's four Twickenham internationals. | |
No player will play all four Tests, so Robinson is set to name two different captains, expected to be Martin Corry and Pat Sanderson. | |
Corry led the side last season before missing the summer tour to Australia, where Sanderson took over. | |
Gloucester centre Anthony Allen and Newcastle fly-half Toby Flood are among the youngsters pushing for places. | |
Allen, 20, is a candidate to fill the problematic inside centre slot in the absence of the injured Olly Barkley and Stuart Abbott, although veteran Mike Catt remains in the elite squad. | |
Flood could also come into contention as back-up to first-choice fly-half Charlie Hodgson with Jonny Wilkinson still out, unless the talented Ryan Lamb wins a rapid promotion. | |
Wing James Simpson-Daniel and lock Steve Borthwick are also on the injured list, while centre Mike Tindall has only appeared once as a replacement for Gloucester this season. | |
In his absence, Newcastle pair Jamie Noon and Mathew Tait could provide the centre pairing for the opening Test against New Zealand a week on Sunday, 5 November. | |
Josh Lewsey and Mark Cueto are both likely to start in the back three after injuries suffered last weekend proved not to be serious. | |
Cueto has fluid around his ankle joint but hopes to be available for Sale's Heineken Cup game against Calvisano on Friday, while Lewsey has also been cleared to return to training after a hamstring twinge. | |
New Zealand-born prop Perry Freshwater should also be included despite fears he had broken his leg playing for Perpignan against Treviso. | |
But a scan revealed only heavy bruising and he could even make a full debut against his native country, with Matt Stevens still recovering from shoulder surgery and Phil Vickery only a fortnight into his comeback. | |
The squad will be scaled down to a match-day 22 next Monday. | |
A week after locking horns with the Tri-Nations champions, England face Argentina before back-to-back Tests against South Africa. | A week after locking horns with the Tri-Nations champions, England face Argentina before back-to-back Tests against South Africa. |