Wales vs England: George North ruled out of Six Nations encounter three minutes before squad deadline

North suffered a thigh injury in the 33-7 victory over Italy last weekend

Wales have named George Northin the starting line-up for the Six Nations match between Wales and England (Getty)

George North has been ruled out of the Wales team for their Six Nations clash against England on Saturday after the wing failed to recover from a thigh injury sustained in last weekend’s victory over Italy.

In what comes as a major blow for Wales just an hour before kick-off, North was named on the official teamsheet after appearing to prove his fitness for the hotly-anticipated clash, having been named in the 23-man matchday squad on Thursday by an optimistic Rob Howley.

However, confirmation soon came that North had been ruled out of the match at 15:47, just three minutes before the squad deadline, and that Alex Cuthbert would start in his place in a straight swap.

The Wales head coach, Howley, had concerns over both North and Dan Biggar when he named his side on Thursday, with confirmation soon coming that both would be monitored right up until game day. Both fly-half Sam Davies and wing Cuthbert were kept on standby for the match, should either fall short in their recovery.

North suffered a dead leg during the second half of the victory in Rome, though that did not stop him sprinting 70m late on to score his side's third try of the match, albeit with a heavy grimace on his face the entire time. Howley confirmed afterwards that he had suffered a haematoma on the thigh, and would monitor his fitness throughout the week.

With North the bigger concern over Biggar’s rib injury, it’s been confirmed that the Northampton Saints wing will not feature in Saturday evening’s encounter after Wales’ coaching staff confirmed their squad.

Cuthbert comes back into the squad after being left out of the 33-7 victory over Italy last weekend, with the replacements' bench unchanged.

Wales team to face England:

L Halfpenny (Toulon); A Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues), J Davies (Scarlets), S Williams (Scarlets), L Williams (Scarlets); D Biggar (Ospreys), R Webb (Ospreys); R Evans (Scarlets), K Owens (Scarlets), T Francis (Exeter), J Ball (Scarlets), A W Jones (Ospreys, capt), S Warburton (Cardiff Blues), J Tipuric (Ospreys), R Moriarty (Gloucester).

Replacements: S Baldwin (Ospreys), N Smith (Ospreys), S Lee (Scarlets), C Hill (Newport Gwent Dragons), T Faletau (Bath), G Davies (Scarlets), S Davies (Ospreys), J Roberts (Harlequins)