England and Exeter Chiefs flanker Tom Johnson has been ruled out of the entire Six Nations championship with a knee ligament injury.
Speaking at the launch for the Six Nations England head coach Stuart Lancaster revealed that Johnson is expected to be out of action for around three months.
In a further blow for England London Irish prop Alex Corbisiero will miss the first two Six Nations match while fly-half Freddie Burns will also be unavailable for the same period.
Corbisiero has had surgery on his knee and is expected to miss the matches against Scotland and Ireland.
Burns will miss the Calcutta Cup clash against Scotland but could be back for the Ireland match as he is expected to be out for two to three weeks with knee ligament damage.
Lancaster said that they are waiting to hear more about Leicester centre Manu Tuilagi who has an ankle injury which could rule him out of the Scotland match.
On a more positive note Lancaster said that Saracens fullback Alex Goode has recovered from a shoulder injury and is expected to play for Saracens against Cardiff Blues in the LV= Cup this weekend which will get him match fit again.
