Shoulder injury ends World Cup for Sheridan

England's rugby World Cup hopes suffered a major setback on Wednesday when key prop Andrew Sheridan was ruled out of the tournament with a shoulder injury sustained in the opening victory over Argentina.

The giant loosehead, who has previously undergone surgery on both shoulders, had a scan on the injury which revealed damage that meant the end of his involvement. England have yet to name a replacement.

The scan pictures were sent to Britain for analysis by the specialists who were involved in Sheridan's shoulder reconstruction two years ago.

In liaison with Sheridan's club Sale, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) said it was decided that the injury was significant enough for the 31-year-old to return home for further medical investigation, subject to the approval of the World Cup medical director.

Sheridan, who played in the 2007 final and is considered one of the strongest players in the game, will not be able to rejoin the squad during the tournament.

"It's really sad for Sheri," England manager Martin Johnson said in a statement. "He has been unlucky with injuries and we wish him all the best for his recovery. We brought five props so we have options there and we can bring another player out but we will decide what to do about that in due course."

England's next game is against Georgia in Dunedin on Sunday.