England coach Stuart Lancaster has indicated that Toby Flood could be left at home if he cannot play in the first Test against South Africa.

Leicester Tigers coach Richard Cockerill named Flood in his team to play Saracens in the Premiership Semi-final last weekend but had to withdraw the England fly half before the match.

Flood's withdrawal had led to speculation that his ankle condition is worse than Leicester are letting on so Lancaster has tasked Phil Pask with finding out the extent of Flood's injury.

"I'll know more when Phil reports back," Lancaster said after naming Gloucester playmaker Freddie Burns as back up fly half in his 27-man squad for the pre-tour match against the Barbarians.

"I need to cover all the bases and Freddie has been playing pretty well. "

"Will we take Toby to South Africa if he's not quite fit? It's hard to say," Lancaster told the Independent.

"There's not much point flying there with someone who won't be ready until halfway through the trip, but if it's only a matter of a few days, maybe."

Lancaster also said that it was unlikely that former England captain Mike Tindall will play for England again.

"Mike will be playing for the Barbarians and that's fantastic," Lancaster said.

"He hasn't announced his retirement from international rugby and I haven't shut the door on him, but if you look at the route we're going down, it's unlikely he'll be involved again."