By Mark Orlovac

Wilkinson signed a two-year deal with Newcastle back in January

Newcastle are confident England fly-half Jonny Wilkinson will be fit for the start of the new season.

The 29-year-old had surgery this summer to repair cartilage in his shoulder but should be fit for the Falcons' opening league game with Sale on 7 September.

"Jonny is doing great," said Falcons rugby director Steve Bates. "He looks in tip-top condition.

"He has had a bit of contact work and the medical opinion is very strong that he will be fit for the Sale game."

The injury is the latest in a long line of problems Wilkinson has suffered since kicking England to World Cup glory in 2003.

He returned to international action in 2007 and earlier this year became the highest points scorer in Test history during the Six Nations.

Jonny is having a scan this week just to make sure that everything has healed up Falcons boss Steve Bates

Wilkinson, who had what has been described as a "long-standing tear", continued to play for Newcastle but his season ended as soon as the Falcons were knocked out of the European Challenge Cup at the semi-final stage in April.

Wilkinson missed England's June tour to New Zealand but is the only specialist fly-half named in manager Martin Johnson's first elite player squad.

"Jonny is having a scan this week just to make sure that everything has healed up," added Bates.

"He had as full a part in training on our recent trip to France as was appropriate at this time in his recovery."

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And Bates said the decision to reduce the number of English backs in his squad was in part down to the new deal struck between the Premiership clubs and the Rugby Football Union which has only just come into force.

In return for a payment of £110m, the top-flight clubs have agreed to allow the RFU more access to their England players around the autumn internationals and Six Nations.

And Bates said: "Certainly part of our strategy was that we could not afford to have four guys in a backline that were going to be missing for 11 games.

"The four players that have to replace them are not going to be of equivalent quality because it is going to be difficult to carry four international backs to cover them when they are away.

"And the problem is finding the rugby that they need in order to step in and play for an autumn series when they probably have not played before at that level."