Rugby: Injury D-Day for England skipper Borthwick as Paris test looms

ENGLAND captain Steve Borthwick will discover later today whether his knee injury is bad enough to rule him out of tomorrow's RBS Six Nations showdown with France.

The England medical team are studying the results of Borthwick's latest scan and will make a final decision before the squad leave for Paris this afternoon. Stade Franais lock Tom Palmer has been training with England all week and is on standby to come into the squad if Borthwick is ruled out.

Borthwick aggravated an existing injury late in England's 15-15 draw with Scotland last weekend and the signs have not looked promising.

After receiving conflicting opinions from two specialists on Tuesday afternoon, Borthwick was advised to spend 48 hours with his leg in a brace and he sat out Wednesday's training session.

Borthwick's condition was reviewed yesterday and he had another scan but there were no reports of an improvement from the England medics. Borthwick has captained England in 20 consecutive Test matches.

Northampton lock Courtney Lawes was on the bench for England against Scotland but Palmer was drafted in from Paris because of his superior lineout knowledge. If Borthwick is ruled out, manager Martin Johnson's captaincy contenders include Nick Easter and Mike Tindall.