Wilkinson will miss England's tour of New Zealand to have more surgery

Instead of trying to reclaim his place from Danny Cipriani, who dethroned him last month, Test rugby's world record points scorer will spend the summer recovering from another surgical repair to damage caused by years of punishment.

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The cynics will interpret his withdrawal from the firing line against the All Blacks as a blessing in disguise.

Wilkinson, the last player to duck even the most fearsome challenge, would have wanted to be there — at the very least in his demoted role as Cipriani's goalkicking replacement.

Instead, the Tests at Christchurch on June 7 and Auckland seven days later could offer Charlie Hodgson a reward for his consistency at Sale and the opportunity denied him under Brian Ashton.

In his 22-Test reign, the deposed head coach chose six different fly halves: Cipriani, Wilkinson, Mike Catt, Olly Barkley, Shane Geraghty and Toby Flood.

Hodgson was permitted no more than one fleeting appearance, the closing 13 minutes against Scotland at Murrayfield last month. That match left Ashton no option but to drop Wilkinson and clear the way for Cipriani's 18-point haul against Ireland.

Wilkinson's shoulder operation has been planned for some time and will take place at the earliest opportunity, although it will be delayed until after next month's European Challenge Cup Final should Newcastle win Friday night's semi-final at Worcester. The club say the operation is a 'routine' one to 'clear out some debris'.

Rob Andrew, England's acting tour manager in the unavoidable absence of Martin Johnson in case his wife Kay suffers the same complications over the birth of their second child as she did with their first five years ago, said: "It's in Jonny's best interests to have surgery at the end of the season so he can spend the summer rehabilitating.

"Of course, we'd like to have him on tour and we intend taking our strongest available squad, but player welfare is important. It's the right call for Jonny not to go."

Andy Robinson has taken another significant step towards becoming Scotland head coach. The 44-year-old Englishman and New Zealander Sean Lineen have won promotion to be specialists working under Frank Hadden with effect from the end-of- season Tests in Argentina.

While Lineen replaces Alan Tait as backs coach, Robinson takes over from George Graham in charge of the forwards. His appointment, following a brief stint with Scotland A, marks a rapid rise since starting as head coach of Edinburgh last autumn on his return to rugby after a run of eight defeats in nine matches cost him the England job 16 months ago.

Despite a poor Six Nations saved only by the 15-9 home win over England, Scotland have decided to stick with Hadden for the time being. Having survived one review, he will be subject to another after Argentina.

Hadden said: "We face some challenging games and I believe now is the time to freshen up my management team. Sean and Andy are top quality and there's no doubt they'll bring tremendous experience to the development of this young squad."

James Haskell, at 23 the youngest captaincy candidate to lead England at the next World Cup, is in the midst of a pay dispute with Wasps. The club, eager to extend his deal for two more years after its expiry at the end of next season, admit that talks have 'stalled' and that they are looking at Springbok Ryan Kankowski as a possible replacement.

Under Premiership rules, Haskell cannot talk to other clubs before January. "James is keen to stay," said his agent, Jamie Salmon. "We hope we can come to an amicable agreement."

Ex-Wales and Lions hooker Barry Williams announced his retirement from the Ospreys on Monday at 34 after three operations within the last year.