England's Tom Croft was a notable omission from the Lions squad that will travel to South Africa this summer © Getty Images

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Players/Officials: Delon Armitage | Steve Borthwick | Tom Croft | Martin Johnson | Simon Shaw | Phil Vickery | Joe Worsley

Tournaments/Tours: England tour

Teams: England

England manager Martin Johnson has thrown down the gauntlet to his Lions nearly-men ahead of this summer's two-Test series with Argentina.

Eight of Johnson's squad will be on duty for the British & Irish Lions in South Africa this summer but he is set to have the services of skipper Steve Borthwick, flanker Tom Croft and fullback Delon Armitage who all failed to get the nod from Lions head coach Ian McGeechan.

Croft and Armitage are likely to be placed on stand-by for the elite tourists and may well be called into action when inevitable injuries strike but Borthwick's hopes look slim because he has not had any contact from the Lions about being on stand-by.

"You know how those guys are feeling. I texted a few of the guys last week and reminded them that injuries happen on Lions tours," said Johnson. "Look at Tomas O'Leary on Friday night. Things will change again during the tour or possibly before the tour.

"We have an important tour ourselves and if there are injuries in South Africa the best place they can be is playing tough competitive rugby so if they are needed they can slip right over there."

With the likes of Phil Vickery, Joe Worsley and Simon Shaw heading to South Africa, Johnson will turn to the next generation to fill a number of the vacancies with Harlequins duo Jordan Turner-Hall and Chris Robshaw tipped for call-ups.

After ending the Six Nations on a high with successive home wins against France and Scotland, Johnson insists the matches against the Pumas will be no experimenting ground.

"This is not a development tour," he said. "We are there to win the Test matches. I don't want people to think it doesn't matter because it is a development tour. We will put out our best team available to win that Test match.

"If I get the vibe off some people - not within our party but around - that this is a development tour, it is under the radar. No it is not. It is England versus Argentina. We have won two Test matches on the trot and we want to make that three the next time we play.

"There are spaces there that need to be filled. There will be some guys who obviously want to push into the senior group. Lewis Moody has been injured all year and he is now fit and there are a few others in that category as well."

Johnson explained no decision had yet been made whether Danny Cipriani will tour with England or undergo the operation he needs to have a four-inch pin removed from his ankle.

Cipriani is another who could come into Lions contention if one of the two front-line fly-halves Stephen Jones and Ronan O'Gara gets injured.

Johnson said, "I spoke to Danny last week in particular about where he is. He got the final game of the season out of the way and we will catch up with him again to find out where he is medically. He has got this metalwork in his ankle. There is a school of thought about getting it out but we will see.

"We know what the situation is and what the possible calls can be. It is a question of getting the information, Danny's opinion and Wasps' opinion."

Johnson would also not be drawn on his plans for Jonny Wilkinson, who has been out of action since dislocating his knee before the autumn internationals. "Jonny hasn't played since getting his injury and he hasn't got a club game to play in now. We will see," added Johnson, who was speaking after putting Powerade competition winners Bristol University 3rd XV through their paces at Twickenham.

"It is a constant thing where these guys are with injury and their rehab. Jonny was away in the States. We know where he is and we can make our call."