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England have not set a return date for Jonny Wilkinson after the fly-half suffered an ankle ligament sprain during training on Tuesday.
The 28-year-old has already been ruled out of England's World Cup opener against the USA in Lens on Saturday.
Wilkinson will now receive intensive treatment and England say there will be no further update until next Tuesday.
That is the day England name the team for their crunch pool game against South Africa on 14 September
The Newcastle half-back underwent an X-ray after limping out of training which confirmed he did not break the ankle but a scan revealed a lateral ligament sprain to his right ankle.
He now faces a race against time to be fit for that crucial Stade de France clash against Springboks and there is still a possibility that he could be ruled out for the entire tournament.
Wilkinson has been plagued by injuries since landing the drop goal that claimed World Cup victory for England in 2003.
Since that famous night in Sydney, the Newcastle half-back has suffered shoulder, neck, groin, biceps and knee ligament injuries as well as a lacerated kidney and appendicitis.
He only returned to the England team earlier this year in the Six Nations clash against Scotland.
Despite the blow of losing Wilkinson for the USA contest, scrum-half Shaun Perry is confident replacement number 10 Olly Barkley will slot in with little problem.
"It doesn't really change anything in terms of the game plan," said Perry. "Jonny is a legend, and you cannot take that away from him. He has that presence about him when he is playing.
"But I played alongside Olly against the French at Twickenham last month, and we are looking forward to going out there and taking that partnership a bit further.
"We have been together for 10 weeks, so it is not hard to build a relationship in training.
"Olly is a great player. He bosses the forwards well and he bosses the backs well, which is what you need.
"As far as I am concerned, nothing changes. We've got our defensive system in place, and no matter who comes in or goes out, that system is there for a reason and that is what we all stick to.
"We know it is going to be a physical game on Saturday, and we will need to stick to our game plan, execute it well and the results will come.
"The World Cup starts for us this Saturday, and we've got to get a win under our belts, get confidence and move on to next week."
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Source: BBC Sport |
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