England will be without George Martin for their last two Guinness Six Nations matches after the lock was ruled out for the remainder of the tournament with knee and shoulder problems.
Martin started the first two matches against Ireland and France but dropped out of the squad for last weekend's nail-biting Calcutta Cup victory over Scotland due to fitness concerns.
He has now been told he will not be fit to face Italy on 9 March or Wales the week after. As it stands his issues are not thought to be too serious, with surgery not currently being considered and no serious concerns over his touring availability later this year.
Kevin Sinfield, England’s skills and kicking coach, said: "Unfortunately he won’t play any further part in the Six Nations for us. He’s actually got two [injuries] – the knee, which has been a niggle for some time, and the shoulder as well. It will be the shoulder that will keep him out.
"We’re very hopeful it won’t be long after the Six Nations but there’s still some medics investigating further."
Sinfield suggested the 23-year-old’s bullish playing style may have contributed to his latest setback but insisted England would not have it any other way.
"I think it’s how he plays. He’s that aggressive and that physical that at points his body takes the toll," said Sinfield.
"You get better with age at understanding your body – what you can and can’t do with it. George is still working some of those bits out but he’s done it in the way we’d like him to which is being so physical and so aggressive. Defensively he’s been very good for us all the way through.
"We’ll miss him. Attitudinally, he’s up there with the best of them with what he brings aggression-wise."
England have Ted Hill ready to cover as both a back- and second-row option following his return to the international stage against Scotland, while Alex Coles is another possibility to step up as cover for Ollie Chessum.
"I think it’s an area where there’s been some injuries across the Premiership, second-rowers, so we lose another quality one," Sinfield added.
"There’s still plenty of competition for us but clearly George will be missed."
Meanwhile, the RFU's board has given its full support to under-fire chief executive Bill Sweeney ahead of a special general meeting on 27 March.
A formal letter including the signatories of 141 RFU member clubs and referee societies issued a vote of no confidence in Sweeney earlier this year, which was initially rejected on the grounds of bureaucratic technicalities before a U-turn was performed and an SGM pencilled in.
Sweeney has faced calls for his removal from rebel clubs angered by the bonus and pay scandal that came to light in November, but he has declined to apologise for the long-term incentive plan that resulted in him being paid a bonus of £358,000 on top of an increased salary of £742,000 (€900k) for the last financial year.
Further bonuses totalling almost £1million were paid to five other executives despite the RFU reporting a record operating loss of £37.9m and making 27 staff redundant. Tom Ilube resigned as chair in response to the crisis.
Bill Beaumont has taken over as interim chair and since embarked on a nationwide tour where he held meetings with "over 500 people from 400 grassroots member clubs, constituent bodies, referee societies and national representative bodies", with the feedback now set to enable members to vote on an additional motion at the SGM next month.
The additional motion reads: "Members believe the governance and representation review should be expedited and this should include formal consultation with the wider game.
"Proposals should be shared before the RFU's AGM and members are to be further consulted on actions later in the year."
In a letter sent out on behalf of Beaumont and the RFU board to members on Friday, Sweeney was described as "spearheading vital commercial and broadcast negotiations" and given unanimous backing.
"I urge member clubs to vote in favour of this resolution which can bring about meaningful governance change and against the motion that members have no confidence in the chief executive officer," a letter from Beaumont to RFU members and seen by the PA news agency read.
"Any decision relating to the employment of the CEO is the responsibility of the RFU board and the board unanimously supports Bill Sweeney remaining as CEO.
"A vote of no confidence risks sending the Union into paralysis and creating a costly leadership vacuum, especially at a time when we are recruiting a new chair and when our CEO is spearheading vital commercial and broadcast negotiations that will play a huge role in safeguarding our future financial sustainability."
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