England's back line and half-back options for next month's World Cup in Australia have been compromised by the withdrawals of Gareth Raynor, the Hull wing, and Paul Deacon, the Bradford Bulls scrum half, although Tony Smith, the coach, is not pressing the panic button.

A toe injury to Raynor has failed to respond to treatment and he will have an operation, ruling him out of the five-week tournament. His misfortune could open the door for Peter Fox, the Hull Kingston Rovers wing, who made his international debut in England's victory over France in Toulouse in June and is in Smith's initial training squad.

The loss of Deacon, who had a knee operation yesterday, is likely to leave Rob Burrow, of Leeds Rhinos, as the only specialist scrum half when the final party of 24 is announced on October 7, three days after the engage Super League Grand Final. “I'll be surprised if we don't lose one or two more, but that's part of the game and we'll have good coverage in all positions,” Smith said.

Leeds are confident that Brent Webb and Kevin Sinfield, who suffered knee and hand injuries respectively in Friday's 38-10 defeat by St Helens in the qualifying semi-final, will be fit for Friday's final eliminator at home to Wigan Warriors, for the right to meet St Helens at Old Trafford. “We've copped that one on the chin and we'll look to make the most of this second chance,” Brian McClennan, the Leeds coach, said.

In the first draw of its kind to decide the Super League “Magic Weekend” fixtures next May - designed to get away from the dependence on derby matches - Wigan were drawn against St Helens, their arch rivals. The “on the road” round is moving from Cardiff to Murrayfield thanks to a two-year agreement with the Scottish Rugby Union.

Magic Weekend draw: Catalans v Leeds, Wigan v St Helens, Warrington v Hull Kingston Rovers, Wakefield v Bradford, Hull v Castleford, Salford v Harlequins, Huddersfield v Celtic Crusaders. (Matches to be played at Murrayfield, May 2-3, 2009)