Former England captain and hooker Dylan Hartley has failed to recover from a knee injury in time to be named in head coach Eddie Jones’ first training squad for the upcoming World Cup in Japan.
Hartley, who led England to back-to-back Six Nations titles in 2016 and 2017, has not played since December and his omission has increased the chances of him missing the tournament.
Halfback Danny Care and flanker Chris Robshaw have also missed out on the 29-man training squad after slipping down the England pecking order.
Care, who has 84 England caps, did not feature in this year’s Six Nations, while Robshaw has not played for his country since having knee surgery in October.
Jones could only pick players who were not involved in last month’s English Premiership semi-finals for his first training squad, because all those who were have been put on mandatory rest for five weeks.
Harlequins No.8 Alex Dombrandt, Northampton Saints flanker Lewis Ludlam and former England Sevens player Ruaridh McConnochie were among those who received their first call-up.
“The first two training camps are designed to improve individual players’ fundamentals to allow them to compete for a place in the World Cup squad,” Jones said in a statement on Thursday.
Players from losing semi-finalists Gloucester and Northampton Saints will join the camp next week and Jones will name his final training party, including players from Premiership finalists Exeter Chiefs and Saracens, on July 4.
The Rugby World Cup kicks off on September 20, with England facing Tonga in their opening Pool C encounter in Sapporo two days later.