Sam Tomkins misses England's game with France through injury
Sam Tomkins has been ruled out of Saturday's Test match against France at Leigh Sports Village but Wigan Warriors youngster George Williams is in line to make his debut.
As expected, Tomkins misses out after failing to recover in time from a knee injury, with man of Steel Zak Hardaker set to feature at full-back.
Super League's young player of the year Williams is one of four uncapped players named in head coach Steve McNamara's 19-man squad and looks certain to play after he was selected ahead of his Warriors team-mate Matty Smith and Castleford scrum-half Luke Gale.
"George has been sensational in the second half of the year," said McNamara, who will pair the 20-year-old Wigan St Patrick's junior with Sydney-based Gareth Widdop.
Williams' Wigan team-mates John Bateman and Joe Burgess could also make their international bows, along with former Warrington prop Mike Cooper, who now plays in the NRL with St George Illawarra Dragons.
As expected, Tomkins misses out after failing to recover in time from a knee injury that ended his NRL career with New Zealand Warriors, to spare McNamara the need to make a difficult decision over who to play at full-back.
Zak Hardaker, the newly-crowned Man of Steel, will now fill the role after a successful season with treble winners Leeds. "Sam's really close, but we don't want to push him," said McNamara. "We want a fully-fit Sam Tomkins to push himself into contention for next week."
Tomkins, whose last match for the Warriors was on August 30, is expected to be fit for the first of three Tests against New Zealand at Hull's KC Stadium on November 1, but Hardaker will be offered the chance to stake his claim for the full-back spot when he wins only his second cap.
Hardaker made his debut against Wales in 2012 but has struggled to fulfil his international potential. He was thrown out of England's squad during the 2013 World Cup for a breach of discipline and was an unused member of last year's touring squad.
"I've been in the England set-up now since 2011, first with England Knights, so I've always been there or thereabouts," said Hardaker. "It's been a big learning curve for myself really over the last four or five years, I know the progression I've made, but I know what level I can achieve and I'm trying to get my foot in the door.
"Last year was frustrating on one level, but on another it was one of best times of my life, because I'd never been to Australia before. "I've had a pretty good year to give myself the best opportunity."
Huddersfield winger Jermaine McGillvary and Warrington second rower Ben Currie, who are both uncapped, are the other players left out of McNamara's 24-man squad, who have set up camp at the FA's St George's Park complex in Burton-on-Trent.
