Joseph joins list of enforced absentees

The London Irish centre was unable to train with the squad in the afternoon and head coach Stuart Lancaster did not expect him to be involved today either.

With the England players having tomorrow off and Lancaster scheduled to name his team on Thursday, Joseph is out of time to prove his fitness to face the Fijians.

Joseph’s absence increases the likelihood of England starting against Fiji with a centre pairing of Brad Barritt and Manu Tuilagi, with Alex Goode at full-back and operating as a second play-maker in the red rose back division.

Lancaster is having to manage a lengthening list of absentees for Saturday’s Twickenham match that also includes the suspended Saracens wing Chris Ashton plus the injured quartet of Alex Corbisiero, Courtney Lawes, Dylan Hartley and Ben Foden.

Harlequins centre Jordan Turner-Hall is expected to be sidelined for at least a fortnight by a knee injury, which opened the way for Gloucester fly-half Freddie Burns to join England’s training squad.

Burns’s Kingholm team-mate Billy Twelvetrees has also joined the squad as Joseph’s injury replacement and Wasps lock Joe Launchbury provides precautionary cover for Tom Palmer.

None of those three late call-ups are likely to feature against Fiji – and Palmer has returned to training after a calf problem – but Lancaster wanted to reward their Aviva Premiership form and give them a taste of the England environment.

“Tom didn’t train last week with a tight calf. I just want to make sure I have all the bases covered. We were also keen to get Joe in, particularly in light of his recent form,” Lancaster said.

“It is an opportunity to bring Freddie into the equation because we recognise the form that he is in and we want to give him the opportunity to present himself up against Toby Flood and Owen Farrell.

“He can get a feel for what we are doing and get used to the game plan.”