Nick Easter was today replaced in England’s senior squad by uncapped Northampton forward Courtney Lawes after losing his battle with a calf injury.
Easter tore the muscle in his right leg in Harlequins’ 26-22 Premiership victory over Worcester on Saturday and has been ruled out for four weeks.
It is the latest blow to a squad that has been heavily disrupted by injury, but Easter’s absence has enabled Lawes to continue his rapid rise up the ranks.
Lawes’ promotion from the Saxons to elite player squad is one of 11 straight changes, which include the return of World Cup winners Lewis Moody and Steve Thompson.
A replacement has yet to be named for injured prop Julian White, but Stade Francais number eight James Haskell is back in the fold to complete the 32.
Bath’s veteran props Duncan Bell and David Barnes are included to address the front-row crisis, while winger David Strettle, fly-half Andy Goode and Shane Geraghty also return.
There is also a place in the squad for uncapped Leicester second row Richard Blaze.
The 24-year-old’s presence has come at the expense of Simon Shaw, who is recovering from a fractured metatarsal and may even struggle to be ready for the concluding Test against New Zealand on November 21.
Saracens lock Steve Borthwick has been confirmed as skipper for the series, which opens against Australia on November 7th and includes a fixture against Argentina a week later.
England Squad
S Armitage (London Irish), D Barnes (Bath), D Bell (Bath), R Blaze (Leicester), S Borthwick (Saracens, captain), G Chuter (Leicester), J Crane (Leicester), T Croft (Leicester), L Deacon (Leicester), D Hartley (Northampton), J Haskell (Stade Francais), B Kay (Leicester), C Lawes (Northampton), L Moody (Leicester), T Payne (Wasps), S Thompson (Brive), D Wilson (Bath), J Worsley (Wasps). M Banahan (Bath), D Care (Harlequins), M Cueto (Sale), B Foden (Northampton), S Geraghty (Northampton), A Goode (Brive), D Hipkiss (Leicester), P Hodgson (London Irish), U Monye (Harlequins), D Strettle (Harlequins), M Tait (Sale), M Tindall (Gloucester) R Wigglesworth (Sale), J Wilkinson (Toulon)
