Elsewhere in the squad, centre Ollie Lawrence will miss a two-day training camp this week with a knee injury, but is hopeful of returning in time to face Italy, while George Furbank will return to Northampton to play in Saturday’s Premiership Rugby Cup match against Saracens for more game time.
Should Furbank, who has endured a torrid run of injuries over the past year, come through that fixture, the full-back is in line for a return to England’s matchday squad.
Coming into the tournament on the back of 11 successive victories, England had high hopes of challenging for a first Six Nations title since 2020, but defeats by Scotland and Ireland means they instead head to Rome attempting to regain stability, rather than trophies.
England have won all 32 previous meetings with Italy, but the Azzurri have enjoyed an impressive campaign so far, beating Scotland in the opening round and pushing Ireland and France hard in defeat.
