Courtney Lawes and George McGuigan withdrawn from England's training squad

England have suffered a double blow ahead of the Six Nations opener against Scotland with Courtney Lawes and George McGuigan withdrawn from the training squad due to injuries.

Lawes sustained a calf injury while playing for Northampton Saints in the Heineken Champions Cup game against La Rochelle where he was seen limping off the field around the half-hour mark.

The 33-year-old already missed England's Autumn internationals last year due to a concussion.

Northampton director of rugby Phil Dowson provided an update on Lawes' injury and added that he will be assessed in the coming days.

“Courtney doesn’t appear to be downbeat, he never is, but he felt he couldn’t continue," said Dowson.

“His calf tightened up, he hasn’t had an issue with it before but he will need to see the physio tomorrow and possibly have a scan so it’s fingers crossed.”

Meanwhile, McGuigan is sidelined with a knee injury that he sustained during Gloucester's recently concluded game against Bordeaux.

Newly appointed England coach Steve Borthwick has called up Tom Dunn and David Ribbans to the squad for the five-day training camp that begins on Monday at Pennyhill Park.

England hooker Jamie George also suffered a head injury during Saracens' recent game against Edinburgh while Luke Cowan-Dickie is also expected to miss most of the upcoming Six Nations tournament which kicks-off on 4th February.