Sheridan a doubt for England

England prop Andrew Sheridan is an early doubt for next weekend's second Test against New Zealand after suffering an eye injury in yesterday's 37-20 defeat at Eden Park.

Sheridan required treatment during the match and is suffering from inflammation that will require further assessment from the England doctor tomorrow.

Forwards coach John Wells said: "Andrew is suffering some inflammation. He took a bang, there was some bleeding and he was dealt with after the game.

"It will be tomorrow before we have any idea whether he is fit to continue."

England have four props on tour - Sheridan, Matt Stevens, Jason Hobson and Tim Payne - so may need to call in a replacement.

Losing Sheridan's destructive power would be a significant blow after the All Blacks gave England a tough examination up front in Auckland yesterday.

Scrum coach Graham Rowntree said: "They are one of the toughest scrummaging outfits in the world.

"We were under pressure, especially in the first three scrums they put extreme pressure on us.

"But we expect them to. They are a very good outfit and they tested us out. We know we can't go round the world pushing people around.

"We worked out ourselves how to deal with that threat. We won one scrum against the head and finished better than we started."