Sam Tomkins ruled out of England's series against New Zealand
Thursday 29 October 2015 13:10, UK
Sam Tomkins has been ruled out of England's international series against New Zealand with the knee injury he sustained in August.
Tomkins injured his knee on NRL duty for his club side New Zealand Warriors and will now be assessed by the medical team at Wigan Warriors, whom he has rejoined for the 2016 Super League season.
"It is a blow for England, Sam is a quality player. He has been a really important part of our programme over the last couple of years," England coach Steve McNamara told Sky Sports News HQ.
"We always play well when Sam plays. He has tried his hardest and we wanted to strengthen his knee to get it to a point where it was as strong as it possibly could be.
"That was the case but his knee still reacted to an underlying issue, so he needs to get that sorted out.
"It's a blow to England but it's a bigger blow for Sam. He is desperate to play for his country, he has worked extremely hard and it is very upsetting for him."
England will go into the tournament with 23 players and there will be no replacement for Tomkins.
