Dylan Hartley ruled out for the remainder of Six Nations

England will miss the services of co-captain Dylan Hartley for the remainder of the Six Nations tournament after he failed to make sufficient progress from a knee injury.

Hartley, who has played 97 Tests for England has not featured for the national side since November and will now undergo a surgery hoping to be fit in time with the World Cup scheduled later this year.

Northampton Saints head coach Chris Boyd confirmed the news on the 32-year-old hooker as he is set to be sidelined for a minimum of four weeks.

"Dylan went to see the surgeon and they felt in conjunction with our medical people the progress was a bit slow.

"He's going to have a surgical procedure on Tuesday to open it up and see what's causing the knee to be grumbly. If it went outstandingly well, he could be playing in four weeks but if it's something a bit more problematic it might be a bit longer.

"We won't really know what time-frame it is until they have a look and then it will depend on his rehab. We certainly won't be putting any pressure on him, he'll play as soon as he can."

Earlier, on Saturday, Wales went on to beat England 21-13 in Cardiff to put an end to their Grand Slam hope in the ongoing Six Nations tournament.