England are hopeful Marcus Smith will be available for the tail end of the Six Nations campaign – and that Alex Mitchell could join him.
The halfbacks were both sidelined through injury and there were doubts as to whether they would play the remainder of the season.
However, head coach Steve Borthwick provided a positive update as his team prepares for tough tests against Ireland and France.
“I am hopeful that Marcus will be available for selection for this final part of the tournament,” said Borthwick. ‘We have received positive news about Alex Mitchell’s injury. We are hopeful that he will be present in the latter part of this tournament. We are not sure if that will be the next game, but we are hopeful that he will also be available.’
Smith left England’s training camp on crutches with a calf injury, while Mitchell suffered a knee injury during open training.
England are hopeful Marcus Smith will suit up for the back-end of the Six Nations
There is also hope that Alex Mitchell will return to action sooner or later
Head coach Steve Borthwick provided a positive injury update after Saturday’s defeat to Scotland
Both players missed the Calcutta Cup on Saturday and their returns would leave Borthwick with a tough selection decision after veterans Danny Care and George Ford missed out in the defeat to Scotland.
England train in York this week before returning to Twickenham to face Grand Slam contenders Ireland.
No. 8 Ben Earl insisted England will not go into their shell and tear up their game plan.
England No.8 Ben Earl has insisted England will not change their game plan despite the loss
“We like the way we play,” Earl said. “I really enjoyed that (Scotland) match for the most part, apart from the score I thought it was a brilliant Test match, with such fine margins.
We have two weeks to figure out how to beat them (Ireland). They are probably one of the top two or three teams in the world, but I have full confidence that our leaders in the squad and the coaches will come up with a solution to beat them. I thought in last year’s Six Nations, even though I wasn’t involved, we were good for 50-60 minutes in that game. Again: can we step forward as a team? Can we continue to improve as a group?’