England may be forced into a change from their proposed team for this weekend’s crunch Four Nations clash against New Zealand, after it has emerged prop Tom Burgess sat out their latest training session in preparation for the game.
England know a win by 10 points will be enough to seal a spot in the Wellington final next weekend – potentially at the expense of Stephen Kearney’s Kiwis, who they face in Dunedin this Saturday.
But they may have to do it without Souths forward Burgess, who rolled his ankle during a training session on Wednesday, it has been reported by outlets in New Zealand.
He is scheduled to be on the interchange bench for the game, with a decision on his fitness likely to be made nearer to the game itself.
Should Burgess miss out, Steve McNamara does have options in his squad – with Mike Cooper the man most likely to get the nod at the expense of the towering prop. However, the England boss could also go with a lighter bench and include the likes of Elliott Whitehead or Stefan Ratchford.
