Bath flanker Moody had a scan on Monday which confirmed he had a mild strain of the medial ligament in his right knee picked up in England’s 23-19 defeat of Wales.

Moody had only just come back into the England set-up after his troublesome right knee had caused him to miss the entire 2011 RBS 6 Nations tournament.

But scrum coach Rowntree was cautiously optimistic the 33-year-old will be ready for England’s opener against Argentina on September 10.

He said: “Is it realistic he will be on the plane? It is too early to say with that injury. It is a mild strain, not a bad strain, which gives us hope.

“We will see how he develops over the next few days. He hurt his knee in January. On Saturday night he was optimistic he would get better. We have to see how he will go with the medics. We will take it week by week. We don't have to do any more than that.

“We will give him the time he needs. He is vital for us going forward. He has led from the front, led with energy and the guys respect him for that. He is doing a great job.”