Most countries have injury issues at this time of year but the shortage of fit English backs available for the Six Nations continues to be a headache for the national management. Manu Tuilagi, Marland Yarde and Christian Wade, plus the forwards Alex Corbisiero, Geoff Parling and Tom Croft, are all set to miss the entire championship, while Ben Foden and Joel Tomkins are expected to sit out a large chunk of the tournament.

Although Brad Barritt is hoping to be back in contention after being ruled out for the entire autumn series, Stuart Lancaster and his fellow coaches will have no option but to promote several players from the Saxons when the Six Nations squad is confirmed a fortnight before the opening fixture on 1 February against France in Paris. The next three rounds of Premiership fixtures, therefore, are significant for players such as Luther Burrell, Jonny May, Anthony Watson, Jack Nowell, George Ford and Danny Cipriani, all of whom have been nudging the selectors this season.

It would be a mighty bold step to lob raw youngsters such as Watson and Nowell straight into a Test environment at the Stade de France but Burrell proved he can handle the big occasion in Dublin at the weekend when he helped Northampton to their rousing win over Leinster. It is understood the management are weighing up whether the Yorkshire-born centre could, if necessary, play alongside Billy Twelvetrees as they ponder solutions to their ongoing midfield conundrum.

Picking Burrell at 12 would require certain adjustments, with Twelvetrees likely to be required to defend at 13. Barritt, scheduled to return for Saracens next month, would offer a more experienced option if his form is sharp enough, with Tuilagi unlikely to be seen in an England jersey again before the summer tour of New Zealand following surgery on a torn pectoral muscle.

Croft – who is due back in April – Parling and Corbisiero are also all hopeful of being available for the series against the All Blacks in June, when Stuart Lancaster's side will be playing three Tests plus a midweek fixture against the Crusaders in Christchurch. They are planning, accordingly, to take an expanded squad which, theoretically, could see a player like Cipriani re-enter the England frame. "Keep delivering at training and in games and it would be only a fool who would not pick someone in form like that," suggested Steve Diamond, the Sale director of rugby.

It is believed at least one England coach will attend Sale's game against London Irish this Friday and Cipriani, last seen in an England shirt against Ireland in 2008, will be desperate to maintain the positive form and attitude which has attracted increasingly favourable notices. If Toby Flood, currently nursing a strained buttock suffered against Montpellier on Sunday, decides to sign for a French club next year, there is definitely space for an extra fly-half going forward.

Cipriani, Owen Farrell, Freddie Burns, George Ford and Henry Slade are all different types of player but Australia's renaissance over the autumn Tests underlined the value of selecting a distributor with a little bit of X-factor about him. Cipriani has finally been showing glimpses of the performances which earned him Test recognition in his Wasps days, although a fast-track return to the Six Nations continues to be a long shot.