Chris Robshaw began the season unsure whether he would retain his place in England's back row, never mind carry on as captain, after a summer when he was overlooked by the Lions and rested from the tour to Argentina, but after a successful autumn he will be asked to lead the side in the Six Nations.

Speculation abounded in October that Robshaw would lose the captaincy to Tom Wood and struggle to see off the challenge of Matt Kvesic for the position of openside flanker, but there is no debate over his roles less than three weeks before England's opening match against France in Paris.

"I am going to announce the captain on Friday and I do not think there will be a surprise," said Stuart Lancaster, England's head coach. "Part of the challenge before the autumn was Matt. While he is working hard and we want him in the camp, his side Gloucester are near the bottom of the table.

"Chris did really well in the November series, both as a player and captain. He improved in the areas we had asked him to, such as his speed over the floor and his decision-making at the breakdown, not going into every one trying to turn every ball over. He has a very high work-rate, good handling skills and his leadership was another step up."

England were the only one of the Six Nations sides to defeat a major southern hemisphere teams in November, rallying in the second half to overcome Australia and they were leading New Zealand with 18 minutes to go. Robshaw made a number of strategic decisions that were vindicated but, 18 months out from the World Cup England are hosting, Lancaster is not committing himself that far.

"Things change a lot," he said. "If you think that there are 20 matches to go before then and look back to my first game in charge and how the squad has changed since then, there will definitely be scenarios where other people have the chance to lead the team and also other players who will come into contention for that shirt."

England go into the Six Nations badly affected by injuries, especially behind the scrum where Manu Tuilagi, Christian Wade, Marland Yarde, Ben Foden and Joel Tomkins will miss most or all of the tournament, while Toby Flood's decision to move to France next season has meant he has been replaced in the elite squad by George Ford.

"It is a blow to lose so many players of that quality, but I do not think we have ever had a squad which was complete," he said. "I hope to have a training camp in the build-up to the World Cup where we will have everyone available in June, July and August to prepare for the tournament. We have to continually assess the volume of rugby the top players play: the clubs are very good at managing the rotation of players, but eight elite squad players out injured is more than I have known, and key men.

"Sooner rather than later the new heads of agreement discussions between the clubs and country will take place, and I think at the forefront of that should be the player and what's best for him. Our best players are important to the clubs and important to the supporters, and they are important to England. I won't be involved in the negotiations but I will give my opinion and I hope the directors of rugby from the clubs that supply most of the England players will be allowed to as well.

"The model and the balance of club and international rugby in this country are good. There are models in other countries and in other sports that are different, but I think it works well. We want a strong club game to have a strong international game, but we need a strong international game to have a strong club game."

As for style, Lancaster expects England to attack. "I wouldn't pick a player who couldn't defend, but I would probably look more to the attacking player," he said when asked which quality held the greater sway in selection. "You cannot go into an international with one of your players who cannot be trusted as a defender. You need that as a foundation."