CHRIS ROBSHAW will on Monday learn the severity of the shoulder problem that threatens his involvement in England's RBS 6 Nations defence.
Robshaw aggravated a pre-existing injury in Harlequins' defeat at Worcester on Sunday and took only a limited part in the Grand Slam champions' first training camp of the year in Brighton earlier this week.
The 30-year-old flanker has been for a scan and must wait until after the weekend to see if he needs surgery - an outcome that would almost certainly rule him out of the Six Nations.
"I'm seeing a specialist on Monday and will know a bit more after that," Robshaw told Press Association Sport.
"It's all up in the air at the moment and it's hard to know exactly where I stand. Once we get to Monday, we'll know the position we're in.
"It feels fine in everyday life but rugby isn't everyday life, that's the thing. It's got to be ready for rugby.
"We'll see if it settles down a bit before Monday and then take it from there and make a decision."
England are in the midst of an all-too familiar injury crisis that is threatening to decimate their pack for the Six Nations opener against France on February 4.
Billy and Mako Vunipola have been ruled out with knee injuries while Joe Launchbury has a calf problem that means he will not be available for Les Bleus' visit to Twickenham.
James Haskell and George Kruis join Robshaw on the list of doubts due to a foot issue and fractured cheekbone respectively, while Dylan Hartley needs to prove his fitness after serving a six-week suspension if he is to remain at the helm.
England completed a perfect autumn series despite losing a number of established players to the treatment room but Robshaw, speaking during a visit to Nordoff Robbins' music therapy centre in Croydon, refuses to read too much into the recent escalation in casualties.
"Injuries have always been part of the game, as they are in any sport or profession where you're pushing your body to the limit," Robshaw said.
"When you're playing a run of matches, you're putting it under stress and unfortunately things can happen.
"It's more about how you come back from injury and in the modern game we've come a long way, even from the time I first started playing professionally."
Robshaw believes the key to England retaining their position as rulers of the northern hemisphere is by being bold.
Wales, meanwhile, are waiting for Leigh Halfpenny to decide where his rugby future lies after Welsh Rugby Union boss Martyn Phillips revealed he had been made "the best offer we possibly can."
Halfpenny's employers - French giants Toulon - are understood to have lined up a bumper six-figure deal aimed at keeping him on the Cote d'Azur beyond a current final season of his existing three-year-contract.
But the 28-year-old full-back or wing, who has won 66 caps and starred on 2013 British and Irish Lions duty in Australia, could head back to Wales on a national dual contract funded by the WRU and whichever region - potentially his former team Cardiff Blues - he plays for.
"You would want him in your mix, not at a distance. He is somebody we think a lot of," WRU group chief executive Phillips said on Thursday.
"We have made him the best offer we possibly can.
"When we were in Brighton, we spoke not about defending a Grand Slam but winning it. That's an exciting mindset to have," Robshaw said.
"It's a slightly different scenario to what anyone of us has been in before because none of us have had to defend being Grand Slam champions before.
"It's about going out there and playing with confidence and (head coach) Eddie Jones has given us that.
"We won all four in the autumn for the first time and were pretty pleased with that, but we felt we didn't play as well as we can so we know there's more to come."
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