England captain Lewis Moody is ruled out

Nick Easter is expected to captain England in their RBS Six Nations opener against Wales after flanker Lewis Moody, skipper for this season's autumn Tests, was ruled out of the first three games because of knee ligament trouble.

The news follows injuries to fellow forwards Courtney Lawes and Tom Croft.

Moody's anticipated six-week absence will sideline him from the appointments with Wales, Italy and France, although he should be available for England's final two Tests against Scotland on 13 March and Ireland the following weekend. Northampton lock Lawes, who also has a knee ligament injury, is likely to miss the whole tournament, with Leicester flanker Croft (shoulder) battling to feature from its midway point.

Moody was hurt during his club Bath's Heineken Cup victory over Italian side Aironi last Saturday, limping off during the second half, with Bath confirming an injury to his medial collateral ligament.

The 32-year-old has won 66 caps and would have been a crucial part of England's armoury against Wales in Cardiff on 4 February. Harlequins No 8 Easter captained England to victory over Samoa at Twickenham two months ago and England are set to name an injury replacement for Moody in their squad next Monday. Contenders are likely to include Tom Wood, Chris Robshaw, Andy Saull and Phil Dowson.

Wales have also been hit by problems. Prop Gethin Jenkins is out of the competition because of a toe injury and scrum-half Richie Rees is banned until 31 March. Coach Warren Gatland has also seen Gavin Henson's Test comeback hopes put on hold by a calf injury and is awaiting news on tighthead prop Adam Jones, who suffered an elbow injury during Ospreys' Heineken Cup defeat against London Irish two days ago and could be out for up to eight weeks.