Knee injury rules Joe Launchbury out of England's Six Nations opener against France

England will miss the services of Wasps skipper Joe Launchbury for the opening game of the Six Nations tournament against France following a knee injury.

The 28-year-old sustained the injury during the European Challenge Cup game against Bordeaux Begles played at Ricoh Arena earlier this month and was replaced in the 58th minute.

According to reports it is learnt that Launchbury is undergoing rehabilitation with the squad at Algarve training base and is expected to be fit for the second game of the tournament against Scotland to be played at BT Murrayfield Stadium on 8th February.

The 6ft 6in lock has played 62 Tests for England since his debut in 2012 and has been a vital cog in Eddie Jones' setup. He was also part of England's World Cup campaign in Japan last year where he made a solitary appearance against USA.

Both the teams have faced each other 108 times with England winning 58 times while France emerged victorious on 40 occasions. The last time these two teams met was in the Six Nations last year at Twickenham Stadium which England went on to win 44-8.