Carvell packs his bags to replace 'devastated' Morley

The injury the Warrington prop forward sustained to his right arm in Saturday's 18-18 draw with New Zealand Maori in Auckland has been diagnosed as a ruptured bicep and he will return to England later this week.

The news is a devastating blow to Steve McNamara's side, who play the Kiwis in their opening match in Wellington on Saturday before flying to Melbourne to face holders Australia.

Morley's Warrington team-mate, prop forward Gareth Carvell, was today preparing to fly Down Under as a direct replacement for the unfortunate captain.

Morley was vice-captain to Jamie Peacock for the mid-season international against France and stepped into his shoes when the Leeds front rower was ruled out of the tournament with a knee injury.

But he sat out the warm-up match against Cumbria with a slight back injury and his reign lasted barely six minutes after he took a bang on his right arm against the Maori.

England do not have an official vice-captain but Wigan captain Sean O'Loughlin took charge in Morley's absence on Saturday and he is likely to be among the candidates to take over the armband, along with Sam Burgess, James Graham and Gareth Ellis.

Under tournament rules, England are allowed to replace an injured player before the series starts but England will miss the leadership qualities of the 33-year-old Morley, who is a much revered member of the squad and has been in vintage form for his club this year.

"It's really tough on Moz and on England," admitted McNamara.

"Adrian is a fiercely proud Englishman and I know how much captaining his country in the Four Nations meant to him.

"I have a lot of faith in this group of players and the loss of a player who commands the respect Adrian does has strengthened their resolve to do well in the Four Nations."

Morley, shortlisted for the prestigious Man of Steel award in each of the last two years, will undergo surgery on his return and is expected to be fit for the start of the 2011 season.

"I'm absolutely gutted and am still coming to terms with it," he said. "I've been around long enough to accept that injuries are a part of every sportsman's life but this one has left me devastated.

"I knew as soon as it happened that it was serious. It was just an accidental bang to my arm but the pain was excruciating.

"It's important now that I get myself right for next season.."

There was some good news for England, with half-back Sam Tomkins' hip injury said to be nothing more than bruising last night.

The Wigan stand-off or full-back, Super League's young player of the year for the last two seasons, went off 10 minutes into the second half on Saturday after taking a knock to his hip and pelvic area and went for scans along with Morley.