Healey to join England squad as cover

Austin Healey will fly to Australia tonight as World Cup injury cover.

Austin Healey will fly to Australia tonight as World Cup injury cover.

England have summoned the 51 times capped Leicester back following injuries to Josh Lewsey and Iain Balshaw.

Wasps full-back Lewsey is nursing a hamstring problem that ruled him out of today's 28-17 quarter-final victory over Wales in Brisbane.

Balshaw, meanwhile, suffered a sprained ankle during last week's win against Uruguay and has also experienced soreness in his knee.

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Healey, who played for Leicester against Wasps yesterday, missed out on head coach Clive Woodward's original 30-man World Cup squad.

He battled back to fitness during the summer following repeated injury problems last season but just failed to make Woodward's World Cup contingent.

Healey will become the second player flown Down Under as a precaution. Bath scrum-half Martyn Wood spent three days in Perth last month without joining the squad.

England head to Sydney tomorrow, where they will begin preparations for next weekend's semi-final showdown with France at Telstra Stadium.

France lock Olivier Brouzet will miss the rest of the World Cup after suffering a shoulder injury in today's 43-21 quarter-final win over Ireland.

X-rays revealed that Brouzet dislocated his shoulder and will not recover before the semi-final against England on Sunday. A replacement will be named tomorrow.