Fly-half Marcus Smith and scrum-half Alex Mitchell in 36-player England squad ahead of Six Nations match at home to Ireland on Saturday; Smith has not played in tournament so far after calf injury, while knee issue picked up in training forced Mitchell out of Calcutta Cup loss to Scotland
Sunday 3 March 2024 20:14, UK
Marcus Smith and Alex Mitchell have returned to England's Six Nations squad ahead of the visit of Ireland on Saturday after calf and knee injuries respectively.
Fly-half Smith is yet to play a minute in this season's competition after picking up a knock on a pre-tournament camp in Girona, sitting out the wins over Italy and Wales and Calcutta Cup defeat to Scotland.
Scrum-half Mitchell started against Italy and Wales only to then injure his knee ligaments in training, with Danny Care starting at No 9 against Scotland.
Smith and Mitchell are now in contention to figure against Grand Slam-seeking Ireland at Twickenham on March 9 after being included in a 36-man group.
Both players attended an England training camp in York last week, with attack coach Richard Wigglesworth saying at the time: "We're hopeful they're going to be in the mix [for Ireland]. We'll know more on Monday/Tuesday next week."
Mitchell's return means Harry Randall is left out of the squad with Care and Ben Spencer the other scrum-half options.
Wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso also returns to the squad after missing last week's training camp because of an exam, with the 21-year-old currently studying for a medical degree at Exeter University.
Forwards: Ollie Chessum, Dan Cole, Alex Coles, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Chandler Cunningham-South, Theo Dan, Alex Dombrandt, Ben Earl, Charlie Ewels, Ellis Genge, Jamie George, Joe Heyes, Maro Itoje, Joe Marler, George Martin, Beno Obano, Ethan Roots, Will Stuart, Sam Underhill
Backs: Danny Care, Elliot Daly, Fraser Dingwall, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Tommy Freeman, George Furbank, Ollie Lawrence, Alex Mitchell, Will Muir, Tom Roebuck, Henry Slade, Fin Smith, Marcus Smith, Ben Spencer, Freddie Steward, Manu Tuilagi
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