England and Lions hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie has lost his fitness race and will miss the Rugby World Cup.
Steve Borthwick named his 41-man official training squad this morning and confirmed the former Exeter star had run out of time.
Zach Mercer, player of the year in France’s Top-14 just a year ago, is the surprise omission - particularly given injury concerns for fellow No.8 Billy Vunipola and Sam Simmonds decision to miss the tournament.