Tom Johnson blow for England

Head coach Stuart Lancaster made the announcement at the tournament launch, as he revealed that Johnson faces three months on the sidelines.

England will also be without loosehead prop Alex Corbisiero for the first two fixtures against Scotland and Ireland, as he undergoes a procedure to clean out his troublesome knee, while Freddie Burns will miss at least the Scotland game on February 2 due to knee ligament damage.

But though doubts also hang over whether or not Manu Tuilagi will have recovered from an ankle injury in time for the tournament opener at Twickenham, there was some positive news with the announcement that full-back Alex Goode is on his way back from a shoulder problem.