Nick Abendanon wins Europe's player of year, but will Stuart Lancaster pick him for World Cup?

England face heading into the Rugby World Cup with neither the 2015 European player of the year nor the 2014 winner in their ranks after Clermont full-back Nick Abendanon was awarded the honour by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) on Tuesday.

Despite brilliant seasons, former Bath player Abendanon and Toulon's Steffon Armitage, the 2014 best player in Europe, are far from assured of being named in England's 45-man training squad for the World Cup due to the Rugby Football Union's (RFU) policy of only selecting overseas-based players in "exceptional circumstances".

His and Armitage…