England fullback Sam Tomkins has been ruled out of the three-Test series against New Zealand with a knee injury, coach Steve McNamara said on Thursday.
The 26-year-old Wigan back initially attended England's training camp earlier this week and was passed fit before breaking down.
"It is a great shame that Sam will miss the series against New Zealand," said McNamara. "We wanted to give him every chance to confirm his fitness but it wasn't to be.
"We were aware of the injury he sustained back in New Zealand playing for the Warriors (in the NRL) but all the information we had was that, if he strengthened the knee to a certain level, he would be fit to play in the first Test.
"With those odds, we took the opportunity to include him in the squad and he's done a brilliant job.
"He's worked so so hard and really has strengthened his knee but there is an underlying issue there and he will have to go back and seek further opinions in the next few weeks."
Tomkins spent five years with Wigan from 2008-13, winning two Super League grand finals, before joining NRL club the Warriors in New Zealand.
He only made 13 appearances with the Warriors in 2015, due to the same knee problem, before returning to Wigan.
Tomkins, who has also experimented with rugby union, has scored 22 tries in 28 matches for England but missed last Saturday's 84-4 rout over France at Leigh.
England will play New Zealand, for the first time on Sunday at Hull, before Tests on November 8 at the Olympic Stadium in London and finally on November 14 at Wigan.
The tourists warmed up for the series with a 34-15 victory last weekend over the Leeds Rhinos.
AFP