Vickery's calf injury is latest blow to England

Steve Borthwick is understood to be ahead of Jonny Wilkinson on a shortlist of two should yesterday's mishap during a routine training session force England to confront Italy in Rome on Sunday without Vickery — a further disruption they could ill afford hot on the heels of losing their other prop, Andrew Sheridan.

In that event, Matt Stevens will start on the tighthead with uncapped Bristol prop Jason Hobson promoted to the bench for the first time.

He and Vickery have a bit of previous. During a break in Six Nations matches last season, Hobson punched Vickery in a Wasps-Bristol Premiership match, a blow which left the victim in such a concussed state that England had to manage without him for their two closing internationals against France and Wales.

Hobson, cited for foul play, was found guilty and banned for three weeks.

Vickery will travel to Rome today in the hope that the damage caused by a stray boot will not take any more than 24 hours to repair. 'We were doing contact drills when it happened,' he said last night.

'I took the ball in and caught someone's clumsy foot on my right calf.

'It's painful and a bit swollen. I don't know whether it's going to be 50-50 or what my chances are. It may settle down in the next 12 hours, then I ought to know a lot more.'

After losing Sheridan to a blood infection, David Strettle to a broken metatarsal, Mike Tindall to liver bruising, Tom Rees to knee ligament trouble and Lewis Moody to a damaged achilles tendon, losing another senior figure is a huge blow.

Head coach Brian Ashton, who shuffled the captaincy during the second-half mayhem against Wales at Twickenham to the point where the players barely knew who was coming or going, refused to identify his skipper-in-waiting.

'I know who it will be but I am not going to say who he is because there is a very strong possibility Phil will play,' he said.

'He said someone trod on his calf and I presume it's only bruising and that he will be ok. After last week, I have to be optimistic. I will give him right up to the wire if necessary. I'm pretty keen for him to play, that's for sure.'

At the end of the chaotic six minutes when two converted Welsh tries left them no option but to surrender the match, England had substituted their captain and already lost Tindall, the man who had been delegated to take over in such an emergency.

Wilkinson admitted subsequently that he and Borthwick had assumed joint command before Wilkinson was formally given the armband.

With his fly half already under enough pressure to call the shots behind the scrum, Ashton will be reluctant to burden him with still more responsibility should Vickery drop out.

Borthwick, at the heart of the operation in the second row, is an accomplished captain in his own right although Bath stripped him of the position last month as a protest against his decision to leave them after 10 years and join Saracens at the end of the season.

Vickery, who has not played a full 80 minutes for England since Croke Park 12 months ago, has been substituted by Stevens in all but two of the last eight matches.

'It's pointless having a bench of players unless you use them,' said Vickery said. 'We all have roles to play and there are decision makers all over the field. When I left the pitch last week, I was in no doubt who was taking over.'

England, in no mood to take any chances, have added Shane Geraghty of London Irish to their squad bound for Rome today as insurance against being forced into yet another change.

Toby Flood, their inside centre and back-up goalkicker, is recovering from a thigh strain which prevented him from training until yesterday.

'Because it's his kicking leg, Shane will come with us as a precaution,' said Ashton. 'I think the chances of Toby not playing are infinitesimal.'

Geraghty, a major hit on his Test debut as a second-half substitute during the home win over France last March, made another appearance in Cardiff six days later but has not played for England since.