Lawes injury scare hits England trial

England manager Martin Johnson breathed a sigh of relief last night after Courtney Lawes was cleared of a serious neck injury.

The Northampton lock had given Johnson a scare less than six weeks before the World Cup when he was carried from the field on a stretcher with his neck in a brace during a behind-closed-doors trial match at The Stoop.

Lawes was given oxygen and transferred by ambulance to Charing Cross Hospital, where he underwent precautionary scans on suspected soft tissue damage. The 22-year-old was discharged last night and will undergo further assessment by the England medical team when the squad gather back at Pennyhill Park on Sunday evening. The Saracens wing David Strettle was also carried off, having suffered an apparent leg injury.