Lewsey in the side's a diamond . . . but only if he's full-back

Robinson has been making a remarkably quick recovery from the injury he suffered in the 36-0 defeat by South Africa which prompted fears his World Cup was over.

The tear, between muscles near the knee, has responded to intensive treatment but he did not take part in training yesterday before the squad left the beach resort of La Baule for their base in Versailles, which suggests England may take the safety-first approach in any case.

Lewsey took over at full-back from Robinson for the 44-22 win over Samoa and put his body on the line to stop the islanders scoring a try when they trailed by only four points in the second half.

This defensive bravery is just one of the attributes Ian McGeechan, the London Wasps director of rugby, believes makes Lewsey the obvious choice at full-back against Tonga - even if Robinson is passed fit.

McGeechan knows Lewsey's game and mindset, having worked so closely with the player at Wasps, and said: "It would be useful for Josh to be told that full-back is where he will be operating for the next couple of games, and he did well against Samoa. He is not a huge man but is very powerful and good under the high ball.

"His defensive tackling is outstanding and that is important in this World Cup, where there are so many powerful wings. We saw in the autumn international against South Africa that he can win the one-on-one tackling situations and he gives the team a stable defensive platform."

Lewsey was full-back when England won the World Cup in 2003, with Robinson operating on the left wing. The latter was only pressed into service at No15 after Mark Cueto failed to come to terms with the role against the United States and the ex-rugby league star was England's only attacking success against the Springboks.

If he is declared fit, Robinson will create a dilemma for head coach Brian Ashton, who knows the Sale wing is a potential match-winner against a Tongan team that threatens to dump the defending champions out of the tournament before the knockout stages.

Australia's quarter-final defeat by England in 1995 is the worst defence so far and England do not want to come up short of that mark in Paris on Friday night.

However, with Cueto showing better form on the left wing and Lewsey and Wasps clubmate Paul Sackey operating successfully as a back three, there is a strong argument for giving Robinson an extra week's rehabilitation to ensure he is raring to go for a potential last-eight showdown with the Wallabies.

Lawrence Dallaglio, the London Wasps captain, will miss out again when team is announced later today, with Nick Easter, of Harlequins, retained at No8.

Captain Phil Vickery will return to the front row at the expense of Matt Stevens, having completed his ban for tripping. The major selection issue has been open-side flanker, where Joe Worsley had some problems and successes against Samoa.

If Worsley fails to retain the jersey, England could revert to a genuine open-side flanker in the shape of Tom Rees or perhaps start with Lewis Moody if they want a more combative forward who loves physical contact. It is a key decision because the Tongan back row includes the outstanding Toulouse No8 Finau Maka.

But Tonga have injury worries of their own, with dreadlocked lock Paino Hehea having suffered a fractured shoulder in the defeat by South Africa. He will be replaced by Maama Molitika.