Healey joins England as cover

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

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.

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 is expected to arrive in Sydney in the next 24 to 36 hours. England heads to Australia’s World Cup capital from Brisbane tomorrow morning local time.

“I must stress that he will not be joining us as a squad member, which would be subject to Rugby World Cup approval,” said Woodward.

“We will continue to monitor the fitness of Josh and Iain over the next 24 hours.”

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’s only official replacement so far has been Wasps lock Simon Shaw, who travelled out to take over from broken hand victim Danny Grewcock.

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