After missing England’s first two matches with a knee injury, Lawes was fit enough to come off the bench for the 19-12 defeat to Wales at Twickenham.

But since returning to Franklin’s Gardens, a further complication has been discovered with a stress fracture in his shin that will could keep the 23-year-old sidelined for several weeks.

And Saints director of rugby Jim Mallinder maintains it would not be advisable for Lawes to be rushed back to fitness before he is ready.

He said: “It's a question of getting him off his feet for a couple of weeks. He's still young and the way he trains, the way he plays is very physical.

“He’s a long career ahead of him. You’ve got to be sensible and not push it at this stage.

“It’s a little bit disappointing and a little bit of bad luck.

"I'm sure he'll come back stronger. He's been very unfortunate and he's very disappointed but he's got a long career ahead of him.”

After bursting onto the scene in the 2010 RBS 6 Nations, Lawes missed the 2011 Championship with a knee injury.

His one appearance of the 2012 tournament did not go smoothly as the 6ft 7 lock was stripped by Wales centre Scott Williams for the decisive try at Twickenham.

Tom Palmer, who started in the wins over Scotland and Italy, is likely to come back in after being dropped from the squad against Wales.

And interim head coach Stuart Lancaster maintains Lawes’ recovery is being fully entrusted to the Northampton medical team.

"It's unfortunate for Courtney as he had just got back into training with us,” he said.

“But we have to listen to expert medical opinion and if that means he has to keep the weight off his right leg to help him recover then we have to respect that and work with Saints to manage his recovery."