Tuilagi and Slade on way back in timely boost for England camp
Manu Tuilagi and Henry Slade will return to the England camp this week as the centres continue their rehabilitation from groin and ankle injuries respectively.
Eddie Jones has named a 25-man group for three days of training in central London ahead of the Guinness Six Nations fixture against Ireland at Twickenham a week on Sunday.
From the players named in the match-day
23 who beat Scotland at Murrayfield last Saturday, hooker Tom Dunn is left out and Courtney Lawes has been rested. The remainder are included, along with Joe Marler, Luke Cowandickie, Charlie Ewels and Ollie Thorley. Anthony Watson is absent, having pulled up in training after a recurrence of a calf injury.
Sale Sharks centre Cameron Redpath will travel to London to assist with preparations. The Daily Telegraph understands that England Under-20 wing Tom Roebuck, a club-mate of Redpath, is also scheduled to join the set-up. Of Tuilagi and Slade, England’s first-choice centre partnership for the 2019 Six Nations, it would appear that the former is more likely to take on Ireland. Tuilagi, who left the field after 16 minutes of England’s 24-17 defeat by France because of a low-grade adductor strain, was granted some downtime last weekend.
On Tuesday, Geordan Murphy, the Leicester head coach, suggested the 28-year-old was “on the mend” and “there or thereabouts” with regard to match-readiness. Tuilagi has faced Ireland five times, winning on each occasion. Slade, who played a key role in England’s 32-20 win in Dublin a year ago, has not played since sustaining a fracture to his right ankle in Exeter’s 31-22 win over Leicester on Dec 21. He will not face Gloucester tomorrow.
England squad: Backs