Vickery Injury Blow Leaves Wilkinson in Line to Lead England

Every rugby team suffers occasional injury disruption but England's Six Nations fitness problems are fast becoming a sick joke. Brian Ashton is already short of one influential prop for Sunday's Six Nations game in Italy and his captain, Phil Vickery, is now doubtful after hurting his right calf in training in Bath yesterday.

If Vickery fails to recover, Ashton will have little choice but to install Jonny Wilkinson as a stand-in captain against the Azzurri. Bristol's uncapped Jason Hobson will also board the team's flight to Rome today and may be required on the bench; given that it was his punch in a club game which damaged Vickery's inner ear and ruled him out of two internationals last season, it will be ironic if the Cornish-reared Hobson makes his debut as a result of Vickery's misfortune.

For the moment England's management are refusing to panic and Ashton will, if necessary, delay confirming Matt Stevens' promotion to the starting XV until "right down to the wire". Vickery, however, described his calf as "very sore" after he took an accidental kick from a team-mate during a morning training session at the University of Bath. "We were just doing some contact drills. I put the ball back and someone caught me with a knee or a boot," he reported. "It's painful and swollen but it might settle down. We'll have a clearer idea in the morning."

If Wilkinson is tossed the armband it will be the third occasion he has led England. Ashton is still looking on the bright side - "I think there's still a strong possibility Vicks will play" - but it has reached the stage where the flag of St George and the Red Cross emblem have effectively merged. In the space of five days the World Cup finalists have lost Andrew Sheridan, David Strettle, Mike Tindall, Tom Rees, Lewis Moody and potentially Vickery. Joe Worsley, Shaun Perry, Harry Ellis, Olly Morgan and Dan Ward-Smith might all have been involved had they been fit and memories of the World Cup attrition rate and the sickness bug which afflicted England's summer tour of South Africa are still fresh.

When Wilkinson and Olly Barkley were ruled out of the ill-fated World Cup pool game against the Springboks, Ashton spoke about gazing up into a clear blue sky and expecting a piano to fall on his head. It has duly done so for the umpteenth time. There is even a faint doubt over the centre Toby Flood, who has been unable to do any kicking practice so far this week because of a slight thigh strain. Ashton insists his chances of missing the game are "infinitesimal" but London Irish's Shane Geraghty has also been asked to accompany the squad to Rome.

As for Hobson, who celebrates his 25th birthday on Sunday, the prospect of a first cap is suddenly more tangible than it seemed last March when he received a three-week ban for whacking the England captain in a Premiership game at Adams Park. "I haven't spoken to him," sighed Vickery, politely declining to reheat the Hobson saga yesterday. "I didn't have a problem with him in the first place."

Vickery's potential absence, however, has reignited the debate as to whether leadership, or the lack of it, was a factor in Wales' second-half comeback at Twickenham last weekend. The Wasps prop was replaced after Wales' first try and it was not until Mike Phillips scored the visitors' second a minute or two later that Wilkinson was formally informed he was captain.

Vickery, however, reckons the captaincy question is overemphasized. "I had no qualms about guys stepping up to the plate ... there's enough experienced guys on the field. As a front-row forward you are going to get replaced and I think it'll happen a lot more. It's pointless having a load of players on the bench if you're not going to use them."

England's management also point out that props, for practical reasons, cannot make all the tactical calls. "When the game is taking place the leadership has to come from the guys actually making the decisions," stressed John Wells, the forwards coach. "Phil in many respects is out of that loop. A team should have enough leaders to cope if the captain is not there. If we only get 60 minutes out of Phil it isn't a problem for us or the team." Wells, however, knows that Italy will be looking to "knock our blocks off" in a physical encounter this weekend.

Whoever leads the team out, Vickery reckons Wilkinson will rise to the occasion. "All I know about Jonny is that he's a true professional and one of the very best rugby players I've ever played with. If I had to put my mortgage on someone to do something, he's my man. He's such a good player that when he does something which can be criticized it tends to be magnified."

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