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Freddie Burns replaces injured England fly-half Owen Farrell for third Test against New Zealand

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Lancaster: Fitness update

Freddie Burns will replace injured England fly-half Owen Farrell for third Test against New Zealand.

The Saracens star suffered a strain to his medial ligament in his left knee during the 28-27 defeat by the All Blacks in Dunedin and will now miss the climax to the series at Waikato Stadium.

Farrell will stay with the squad for the remainder of the tour before returning home for further assessment and treatment by Saracens in conjunction with the England medical team.  

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Gloucester fly-half Burns, who impressed in the first Test in Auckland, will replace the 22-year-old for England's final attempt at beating the All Blacks on the tour with Danny Cipriani possibly claiming a place on the bench after he impressed in spells during the win over the Crusaders.

Disappointing

“The knee has been scanned and there is a strain there,” said England head coach Stuart Lancaster.

"Obviously it's hugely disappointing for Owen because he wanted to finish the season with the third Test, but these things happen. Freddie and whoever we decide for the bench slot now has another opportunity.

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"The challenge facing Freddie is to back up that performance that he produced in the first Test into the third Test. I'm confident he'll be ready."

Centres Luther Burrell and Billy Twelvetrees trained on Tuesday despite battling ankle injuries, but scrum-half Danny Care is still struggling with his shoulder problem.

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