England lock Simon Shaw has been ruled out of Saturday's Calcutta Cup showdown against Scotland with a shoulder injury. The 36-year-old had been doubtful ever since damaging his AC joint in the opening minutes of England's defeat to Ireland at Twickenham on February 27th.
England manager Martin Johnson confirmed the Wasps forward would not be available to play at Murrayfield and that Stade Francais lock Tom Palmer has been called into the squad.
Johnson has called up five reinforcements in total ahead of the trip to Murrayfield, including Mike Tindall who returns to the senior squad after overcoming a hamstring injury.
Tindall has replaced Leicester centre Dan Hipkiss, who is still struggling with an ankle problem.
Delon Armitage is said to be progressing well after injuring his ribs against Ireland but Johnson has called up Gloucester full-back Olly Morgan as cover.
Leeds flanker Hendre Fourie has received his first senior call-up after Wasps number eight Dan Ward-Smith suffered knee ligament damage at the weekend.
And Northampton fly-half Shane Geraghty has returned to the senior fold as precautionary cover for Toby Flood, who received a knock to the head playing for Leicester against London Irish on Saturday.
Flood's condition is currently being reviewed by the England medics.
Johnson will name his team to play Scotland on Tuesday, but Shaw's absence opens the door for Louis Deacon to return alongside captain Steve Borthwick in the second row.
Palmer, who moved from Wasps to Stade Francais last summer, has not played for England since the defeat to South Africa at Twickenham in 2008 but could be pushing hard for a place on the bench.
Courtney Lawes is technically next in line. He played an hour for Northampton against Sale on Sunday but at blindside flanker rather than lock and England have concerns over an ongoing groin problem.
Tindall, who won the last of his 60 caps against Scotland in 2009, has played down suggestions he could be propelled straight back into the starting XV.
The Gloucester centre's last cap was against Scotland in 2009 having missed the autumn international campaign with a major hamstring which kept him in rehab for 17 weeks.
Tindall started his second game back against Wasps at the weekend and marked it with a try in Gloucester's 24-19 defeat, but he does not expect to be in the running for an England start until the summer.
"It would be very nice but I would be surprised," he said at the weekend.
Armitage's place would be taken by Ben Foden, who replaced him during the Ireland game.
Flood has been an unused replacement in England's last two Six Nations games despite Johnson stressing that he is pushing Jonny Wilkinson hard for the number 10 jersey.
If Flood is deemed to be unavailable, Geraghty would be a like-for-like replacement on the bench as a player who can play at both fly-half or inside centre.