England coach Tony Smith says he expects to be without prop Maurie Fa'asavalu for the remainder of the rugby league World Cup after naming a reshuffled side to face New Zealand on Saturday.

Smith has named a 19-man squad without Fa'asavalu, who has a suspected broken finger, and second rower Jon Wilkin, who has a facial injury.

Team management are awaiting a further diagnosis on Fa'asavalu's injury but Smith is not holding out hope of the former Samoan World Cup rugby representative being fit for the playoffs.

"He's got a crack in his finger and it's not looking good, he may have to have an operation," Smith said at training in Newcastle.

"We're waiting on a final call but it looks like his tournament might be over.

"New Zealand's where he spent some of his life and he would have loved to play against them, I'm sure. But he'll get plenty of opportunities in the future."

It means a likely Test recall for Leeds prop Jamie Jones-Buchanan.

Fa'asavalu and Wilkin both suffered their injuries during England's 52-4 loss to Australia in Melbourne on Sunday.

Smith included key back Leon Pryce in his 19-man squad but he remains in doubt with a rib injury which required a painkilling injection on Sunday.

Smith said there would be "a few changes" for Saturday's match in Newcastle which will not affect the semifinals, with both sides set to meet again in Brisbane the following weekend.

"Whenever you represent your country you play for pride and there's no such thing as a dead rubber in international rugby league," he said.

"Both sides will want to gain form and gain an upper hand heading into the semis."

He said the team had recovered from their thrashing against the Kangaroos, where he insisted his team didn't play as badly as the score suggested.

"I don't know if it was a shock. You expect Australia to play well and they played particularly well.

"They've hit the ground running and for both ourselves and the Kiwis it sets a benchmark, and both teams have got to find some better form if we're going to compete."

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