Wales captain Stephen Jones has been forced to withdraw from Saturday's Six Nations clash with England after suffering a fractured bone in his wrist.
Gareth Thomas comes into the starting XV at inside centre and reclaims the captaincy, with James Hook moving to outhalf.
Jones was named in the Wales team yesterday after recovering from a blow to the head he suffered in the 23-20 defeat to Italy last weekend.
He also damaged his wrist in Rome but was passed fit to start until he aggravated the injury in training yesterday.
X-rays last night revealed he had suffered a fracture. Jones is expected to be out for up to three weeks, which also makes him a doubt for the Llanelli Scarlets' Heineken Cup quarter-final against Munster on March 30th.
Wales head coach Gareth Jenkins said: "Stephen has been nothing short of inspirational in camp over the last few days and this is by no means ideal preparation for what is an important week for us all.
"However we are all confident James Hook will be able to change position and meet the challenge presented to him and Alfie's (Thomas) inclusion has positive implications both psychologically and for rugby reasons.
"We are in the privileged position of being able to call upon a player of his immense captaincy pedigree, rugby history and leadership talents to fill the void left by Stephen's injury."
Jenkins decided to replace Thomas as captain and appointed Jones in the build-up to the autumn international series.
Jenkins added: "It is a credit to him (Thomas) that he responded so positively to his country's call when asked to do the job.
"This is an important weekend for Welsh rugby and Alfie has the capacity to come into the captaincy role and lift everyone. He was the natural candidate to fill in as captain for this game once we realised Stephen was not going to make it."
Wales physio Mark Davies claimed Jones had returned to training because he had recovered sufficiently from the eye and wrist injuries sustained against Italy in Rome.
"He was made available for selection before aggravating the problem in training," said Davies. "A scan revealed an uncommon injury in the form of a break to a small bone in his right wrist, which limits his ability to function.
"As a result the wrist will be put in a splint and immobilised for the next two to three weeks. The problem doesn't require surgery."
With Thomas now in the starting XV, Ceri Sweeney has been promoted onto the bench.
