Jonny Wilkinson has offered his support to former skipper Martin Johnson © Getty Images

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Players/Officials Lawrence Dallaglio | Martin Johnson | Jonny Wilkinson

Teams England

England's World Cup-winning fly-half Jonny Wilkinson has lent his support to Martin Johnson's England regime and also refused to rule out a return in time for the 2008 Six Nations.

Wilkinson suffered a dislocated knee in September whilst on club duty for Newcastle against Gloucester, and despite the severity of the injury Wilkinson is hopeful of a return to action sooner rather than later.

Wilkinson told BBC Radio Five Live when asked if he might make a dramatic return, "I'm not sure. At the moment I'm still waiting to get on my feet, properly move around (which) should be around January time and after that I'd like to think I could come back. I hope so, I'm always positive."

Despite Johnson's disappointing start as England manager, his former playmaker Wilkinson is sure that he can restore some pride to the England shirt. "I believe he will be (successful). I don't say that as helping out someone I know, I genuinely believe it," he said. "To think someone is going to achieve straight away without going through a period of learning and adjustment is ridiculous.

"Jonno is such a clever, astute guy that he will pick up on that learning very quickly. I trust the system, I trust Martin Johnson, I trust the coaches and the players."

Wilkinson might be injured and out of rugby at the moment - but his popularity is undiminished. The sidelined star conducted a marathon six-hour signing session at Twickenham's Rugby Store on Thursday, promoting his new book 'Tackling Life'.

Just under 550 fans waited for up to four hours, with Wilkinson signing his last book at 12.45am today - nearly five hours after the original scheduled finish.

In related new, new Wasps Director Lawrence Dallaglio, has speculated that there could well be changes in playing personnel after a disappointing autumn, a fact that will not be lost on the recovering Wilkinson. "This is a very interesting time because every position is up for grabs, come the Six Nations," said Dallaglio.

"Every player needs to go back to his club and take a look at himself. They will have been involved in a very tough series. They will now realise what it takes to be involved at the top of world rugby and perform for their clubs.

"England's woes will certainly benefit Wasps. If I was Danny Cipriani, I would say 'how can I put my game back in order?' They will need to start driving their clubs forward, getting Wasps back up the table and proving to everyone they deserve to be in the England team."

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