Bristol Bears hooker Harry Thacker will mark an outstanding debut season at Ashton Gate with a place in England's provisional World Cup squad, Bristol Live understands .
Thacker has never played for the England senior side but his standout season for the Bears in 2018/19 after making the move to the South West from Leicester Tigers has earned him a call-up in the 48-man squad which will be announced in just under an hour.
England head coach Eddie Jones will confirm his elite player squad, from which around 35 players will be selected for the first of three training camps as he whittles down the players before naming his 31-man travelling party to head to Japan this autumn.
Injured former captain Dylan Hartley is expected to miss out, putting his chances of making the tournament on a knife-edge, but it opens the way for a host of outside contenders.
Jamie George remains the obvious first choice for England having started for the national side in the 2019 Six Nations, toured with the 2017 British and Irish Lions and starred for Saracens this season as the claimed a Heineken Champions Cup and Gallagher Premiership double.
That leaves Luke Cowan-Dickie of Exeter Chiefs and Jack Singleton, who swapped Worcester for Saracens this summer fighting it out with Thacker.
It remains unclear if new Bears arrival Nathan Hughes will make the cut. The 22-cap No8 has been a regular presence in Jones' squad as the obvious alternative to starting back rower Billy Vunipola.
However, reports earlier this month have indicated that Harlequins youngster Alex Dombrandt will get the nod ahead of Hughes when the squad is named at 12:00 BST.
Hughes has signed for Bristol after six years at Wasps where he has established himself as one of the most devastating back row players in the Premiership, on both sides of the ball.
