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England suffer Vunipola blow

London - Mako Vunipola has been ruled out Monday of England's concluding November international against world champions New Zealand at Twickenham this weekend.

The prop forward missed last Saturday's 31-12 win over Argentina at 'headquarters' with a knee injury and this coming Saturday's clash against the All Blacks has come too soon for Vunipola.

Joe Marler, his replacement against the Pumas, was concussed at Twickenham but could recover in time to face New Zealand,

"Mako won't be playing. Joe's going through the mandatory recovery for concussion, but we're hoping he'll be OK," England coach Stuart Lancaster said Monday.

British and Irish Lions prop Alex Corbisiero is now in line to start against New Zealand with Marler offering cover off the bench if he is declared fit.

Meanwhile scrum-half Ben Youngs has been given a clean bill of health following a hip problem and Lancaster was optimistic wing Marland Yarde would recover from a hip injury of his own.

But Lancaster said wing Christian Wade was "unlikely" to get over a tight hamstring in time to play New Zealand, who defeated France 26-19 in Paris last weekend.

Both Lancaster and Kiwi counterpart Steve Hansen are due to name their teams on Thursday for a match where New Zealand will look to make it 13 wins out of 13 in 2013.

But last year's corresponding Twickenham clash saw England beat the All Blacks 38-21 in stunning style for only their seventh win over New Zealand in 35 Tests dating back more than a hundred years.

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