The 25-year-old may have been a late injury replacement for England's tour to South America, but he will have an immediate opportunity to make an impact after having been named alongside six other Saints in the squad which is facing a Sudamerica XV.
But for the big centre, who last weekend was playing in his first Aviva Premiership Final, the call-up from England head coach Stuart Lancaster is still a bit of a blur.
"I'm absolutely over the moon to be here," he told the RFU Podcast. "It's a huge honour to represent your country and I've worked extremely hard over the past 12 to 24 months to reach this stage. But to be honest I never thought it would come.
"It's a dream come true and actually quite surreal. So I'm going to embrace it and enjoy the moment.
"I was in the car when Stuart rang me. His name popped up on the screen and I went into panic mode, wondering what he was ringing me for. So when I answered and he dropped the news on me I went silent with disbelief.
"Obviously it was a disappointment for Joel [Tomkins], but it means I've got an opportunity to put a marker down for the future."
Although there will be some familiarity in the England midfield between Burrell and fly half Stephen Myler, the pair will also have to gel with a new player, Bath's Kyle Eastmond.
Burrell is excited by the potential within the England team.
"Kyle is a fantastic player with a lot of flair and who has been fantastic for Bath this year," he said. "We'll be utilising his pace and hands, and for me to get us over the gain line, and we're excited about the combination. The team is full of pace, and if we can release these guys we'll be able to put together some good rugby for the spectators.
"That's what people want to see and it's going to be fantastic if we can get the combinations firing."
While this weekend's game is a landmark for Burrell, it also marks a little piece of history for England as a team, who are playing in Uruguay for the first time. They are facing a Sudamerica team which includes players from across the continent, and the centre says that this presents its own challenges.
"We're expecting them to be aggressive in defence and to play with flair. The Argentine teams play with flair and none of the players will be afraid of playing us. And because we don't know that much about them it's up to us to make sure we stay within our structures and implement what we've worked on during the week, and build ahead of the test matches."
