Wilko in line for Falcons return

The England fly-half has been troubled by an ankle injury that meant he missed Newcastle's last four games, and he also sits out Sunday's Guinness Premiership clash at Wasps but he is on course to return when Falcons face the same opponents in an EDF Energy Cup pool decider next Saturday.

Newcastle rugby director John Fletcher said: "Jonny's ankle has not settled down as much as we thought it would, so he has had an injection this week to get the inflammation down a bit. He was very close to playing this weekend, and he did most of our training throughout the week."

He added: "But he will resume full training on Monday, and he will be in contention for selection for the following game."

Despite Wilkinson's absence, Newcastle boast a post-World Cup unbeaten record in domestic and European competitions, although that impressive run will be severely examined tomorrow.

Fletcher added: "It doesn't get any tougher than playing away against the European champions twice in six days, so this will be a test of where we are as a squad right now.

"Wasps' set-piece and ball-carrying will be key areas, but their main weapon is the pressure they put on you in defence.

"It will be a massive physical encounter, and we have to at least match them in that area, If we do that, then spaces will start to appear.

"They concede a lot of line breaks with the way they defend, but they scramble very well and try to smash you in all areas.

"Their rush defence makes you feel like you are under more pressure than you actually are, but we have to manage that, win collisions, keep the ball and go from there."