England back Ben Te'o says Brad Shields will be treated like anyone else when he joins the squad for the tour of South Africa next month.
England's preparations continue without Kiwi recruit Shields, who still leads the Hurricanes in Super Rugby.
Eddie Jones, the England coach, has just named 35 players for a match against the Barbarians this weekend in what is seen as vital preparation for the three-test tour of South Africa.
Shields, however, will be a Kiwi clip-on, but Te'o downplayed any criticism.
The Auckland-born Te'o, who came to English rugby from league's NRL, told the Telegraph: "I think maybe people on the outside of the squad would have more of an issue with it,