The former Leeds man – who has 32 England caps – had worked hard to regain his place in the side after playing second fiddle to Leicester’s Ben Youngs since last summer, despite playing all of the 2010 Six Nations fixtures.

But in a double blow for Care, Youngs had yet to return from knee surgery in July and the 24-year-old was in pole-position for a World Cup start.

Care is expected to be out for six weeks and yesterday used Twitter to voice his disappointment and encouragement for his teammates: “Absolutely devastated about my injury but in the best hands for my op tomorrow. Wish the lads all the best to hopefully win the world cup!!.”

England manager Martin Johnson will now need to reassess his options just five days before he names the 30-man squad he will take to New Zealand.

He is confident that Youngs will be fit for his side’s final warm-up match against Ireland in Dublin on August 27th, and while he was disappointed for Care, he believes England’s strength in depth will ease the situation.

Johnson said: “We are all hugely disappointed for Danny, who has worked extremely hard and has been an important part of the squad throughout our World Cup preparations.

“He featured in both warm-up fixtures and was on course for selection so this injury is really disappointing for him and for us as a squad.

“In terms of our selection options we are fortunate to have depth at No 9 with Ben Youngs, Joe Simpson and Richard Wigglesworth.”