MATTHEW Rees has given Wales a major World Cup scare by being a doubt for the first August warm-up game against England at Twickenham on Saturday.

The Wales captain is suffering from a back injury, believed to be a bulging disc, and though the camp have kept it quiet, it is believed he is unlikely to be able to lead the side into battle against England.

Only a few days ago when Wales coach Warren Gatland named his squad for the England game Scarlets hooker Ken Owens suddenly found himself involved again, though he had a neck operation near the end of last season.

The reason is probably because the Welsh team management knew then of the scare surrounding Rees.

But his misfortune provides Newport Gwent Dragons hooker Lloyd Burns with another lift in his bid to come from nowhere all the way to the World Cup.

Gatland named him in his initial training squad after being impressed by him near the end of last season.

A series of barnstorming performances catapulted Burns into the reckoning, and injuries to Richard Hibbard and now Rees make it a near-certainty that he will be on the plane to New Zealand at the end of the month.

Gatland is due to name the side to face England on Thursday, and he says he will pick a strong side and not make the same mistake predecessor Gareth Jenkins did in a similar warm-up match against the old enemy before the last World Cup – and paid a heavy price with a 60-point defeat.

“We need to go up to Twickenham with a strong side and give a good performance and get some confidence out of it, so it’s important we pick a strong side. Then I might make some changes against Argentina,” he said.