England's World Cup campaign is in danger of total meltdown - just three days before their biggest Test match since 2003.
The crisis-hit England camp look set to lose both fly-halves - Olly Barkley and Jonny Wilkinson - for Friday night's showdown against South Africa at the Stade de France.
Skipper Phil Vickery, meanwhile, faced a disciplinary hearing tonight that could also rule him out of contention, with illness-hit backs Mathew Tait and Dan Hipkiss both remaining isolated from their colleagues.
It could all result in Mike Catt, who will be 36 next Sunday, wearing the number 10 shirt and big-money rugby league import Andy Farrell starting alongside him at inside centre and as first-choice goalkicker.
England might then be left painfully short of midfield cover on the bench. Only six replacements have so far been named.
It is not beyond the realms of possibility that head coach Brian Ashton could summon a squad replacement - possibly Toby Flood or Charlie Hodgson - from his standby list, but England would have to send a player home in that instance on medical or compassionate grounds.
Any player departure would need to be signed off by the tournament medical officer more than 48 hours before kick-off for the replacement to be involved on Friday night.
Allied to England's dreadful opening Pool A performance against the USA, it has proved a nightmare eight days for Ashton and his squad since arriving at their Versailles training base.
Ashton said: 'Olly strained a hip flexor in training this morning. He is going for a scan that will determine the extent of the injury, and a decision will be made tomorrow morning whether or not he can take part in Friday night's game.
'Jonny is rehabbing his injury at the moment. We don't know at this stage whether he would be fit to take part on Friday night. We will wait and see what the outcome on Olly Barkley is, and we will decide what our strategy is from there.'
As with Wilkinson last week, Barkley was hurt in a non-contact situation, with Ashton adding: 'Olly was just running. There was no-one anyone near him, as usual with an England injury.
'It would be nice to think someone was on the floor and about 10 people were kicking hell out of him when something like this happens, but it didn't.
'With Jonny, he has been out this morning, running around and kicking. I think it is the first time he has done any kicking, so he is obviously making good progress.
'If he was fit, I would consider him for Friday, if he wasn't fit, then no. Andy Farrell is the 10/12 replacement on the bench. If Olly is not fit and Jonny becomes fit, then problem solved, but we are talking complete speculation.
'We don't know the nature of Olly's injury, and we are not entirely certain where Jonny is up to in terms of rehab. To replace someone, someone has got to go home. Until I know the extent of Olly Barkley's injury and what happens with Phil Vickery's citing, I do not know, but I am not banking on going to bed tonight.'
