England fear Jonathan Joseph could be out for entire World Cup pool stages

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Jonathan Joseph is a doubt for the rest of England's World Cup pool stage
The England centre has a chest injury and may miss Wales and Australia
Backs coach Andy Farrell revealed a decision will be made on Wednesday
Sam Burgess, Henry Slade and Owen Farrell options to replace Joseph
Farrell also revealed that No 8 Ben Morgan has a bang on the knee
Although Morgan did not train on Monday, the injury 'isn't serious at all'
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Published: 02:51 EST, 23 September 2015 | Updated: 13:19 EST, 23 September 2015

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England's coaches could find themselves wrestling with an awkward dilemma regarding Jonathan Joseph, whose injury is worse than initially claimed.

Sportsmail understands that the Bath centre is in danger of being ruled out until the end of the World Cup pool stages.

That would mean missing the crucial matches against major rivals Wales and Australia, as well as the encounter with Uruguay that he may not have featured in anyway.

Jonathan Joseph suffered a chest injury against Fiji and could be out for the rest of the World Cup pool stages

The 24-year-old was holding his shoulder in obvious discomfort at Twickenham on Friday night

Andy Farrell confirmed the chest problem with Joseph ahead of the clash against Wales

Joseph was reported to have suffered a bang on the chest and defence coach Andy Farrell suggested on Tuesday that if he was ruled out of the Wales game, he would be available again next week.

However, pitch-side accounts from Friday night have reported the 24-year-old holding his shoulder in obvious discomfort and it is thought that the more likely timescale for his recovery is 2-3 weeks.

This puts Stuart Lancaster and his assistants in a difficult position. Joseph is a significant cog in their attacking game and the management will be desperate to have him involved again at the earliest opportunity.

But they have just four specialist centres in the 31-man England squad and if he is absent for three weeks, pitching him straight back into the starting XV for a quarter-final would be a risky approach.

That leaves the coaches to agonise over whether they should instead release Joseph and send for a replacement.

They will be reluctant to do so, but may consider that they need more fit and available options now. Much will depend on the shifting medical prognosis over the next 24 hours.

Joseph is staying in camp for treatment while his team-mates are at home for a day off, so if the situation improves, he will be retained without hesitation.