Deacon pulls out of England squad

Injured Bradford scrum-half Paul Deacon has been forced to withdraw from England's training squad ahead of next month's Rugby League World Cup.

The Bulls captain was only added to the squad earlier this week, but scans have confirmed he needs knee surgery.

He joins club-mates and shoulder injury victims Sam Burgess, Terry Newton and Andy Lynch on the sidelines.

Warrington's Jon Clarke (arm) and Wigan's Sean O'Loughlin (shoulder) had earlier pulled out with injuries.

Deacon, whose last international appearance came during Great Britain's Tri-Nations campaign in 2005, said it would take around six weeks to recover from the injury.

"If I'm honest, I sort of knew deep down it was going to happen," he said.

"I knew something was wrong before it was confirmed and then my worst fears were realised.

"I'll be going in for the operation on Monday. Last year I had to pull out of the Great Britain squad because of a hamstring and now this. It's been a year of bad luck for me.

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How much of a blow are the latest withdrawals?
"I've got the scan result and it shows I've got some cartilage damage and a partial tear in my posterior cruciate ligament. It should only take up to six weeks after the operation but it's the worst possible time for the World Cup."

Coach Tony Smith will make further additions to the squad as teams are eliminated from the Super League play-offs.

The coach will name his final 24-man squad on 7 October before their opener against Papua New Guinea on 25 October.

The squad will participate in regular training sessions ahead of the World Cup in Australia.

England's tournament begins against Papua New Guinea in Townsville, but Smith's team will also play a warm-up fixture against Wales in Doncaster on 10 October.

England World Cup train-on squad (as of 20 September):
Martin Aspinwall (Huddersfield Giants)
Ryan Atkins (Wakefield Wildcats)
Shaun Briscoe (Hull KR)
Garreth Carvell (Hull FC)
Tony Clubb (Harlequins RL)
Peter Fox (Hull KR)
Martin Gleeson (Warrington Wolves)
Darrell Griffin (Huddersfield Giants)
David Hodgson (Huddersfield Giants)
Jamie Langley (Bradford Bulls)
Adrian Morley (Warrington Wolves)
Rob Purdham (Harlequins RL)
Gareth Raynor (Hull FC)
Louis McCarthy-Scarsbrook (Harlequins RL)
Michael Shenton (Castleford Tigers)
Paul Sykes (Bradford Bulls)
Joe Westerman (Castleford Tigers)
Ben Westwood (Warrington Wolves)

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