Flutey has been ruled out of England’s autumn internationals after undergoing surgery on a shoulder injury aggravated while playing for Brive. Under an agreement between the RFU and Premier Rugby, the centre would not have been allowed to play had he still been based in England.
'We expressed very clearly our concerns a year ago as to what may impact upon the player and his international selection,' Andrew said.
'I think there are issues certainly that both ourselves and Brive are discussing.'
Andrew conceded Flutey would have required surgery sooner or later on his troublesome shoulder but expected the New Zealand-born player to be rested: 'There was ongoing dialogue about whether he should play in that weekend of games.
'The medical view is we would have preferred him not to play.'
Flutey is one of host of England players, including Jonny Wilkinson, who chose to move across the channel over the summer and out of the control of the RFU.
However unlike some of those players, Wilkinson has the EPS (England performance squad) provisions written into his contract.
And Andrew was in no doubt of the importance of these provisions to England’s ongoing hopes: 'We worked hard to get these things in their contracts. We need them in there.'
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