England, still licking their wounds after their Six Nations defeat in Ireland, are waiting to see if Luther Burrell will be fit for the home game against Scotland. The Northampton centre has been ruled out of training with a calf strain but the management expect Mike Brown to be available for next week’s Calcutta Cup match at Twickenham.
While the extent of Burrell’s calf problem is still unclear, England will have to run with a different midfield combination in practice and cannot risk exacerbating the problem by rushing back the 27-year-old. Calf injuries do not always heal swiftly and Burrell’s participation against Scotland must be rated uncertain.
In the event of Burrell not making it, Stuart Lancaster has three other specialist centres in Billy Twelvetrees, Kyle Eastmond and the fit-again Brad Barritt. Manu Tuilagi is still injured and other theoretical contenders such as the Exeter pair Henry Slade and Sam Hill were not present in Bagshot for the full squad debrief of the Ireland game conducted by Lancaster and his coaches.
Brown is set to resume full training on Friday, having been ruled out of the Ireland game after suffering further symptoms following his concussion against Italy. Assuming he has no further setbacks the Harlequins full-back will be allowed to return to playing and will come under consideration to face the Scots.
Lancaster will also study medical assessments before settling on his squad, with Courtney Lawes, Tom Wood and Geoff Parling among those itching to return to the Test arena.
Almost all of them are likely to be released back to their clubs on Wednesday with a view to playing league matches this weekend.
“The majority of the bench players and non-match day 23 will be released back to their clubs over the next 24 hours and be available for this weekend’s Premiership games,” Lancaster said. “We feel they will benefit from some game time to put themselves in contention for the Scotland match.”
Despite their 19-9 defeat in Dublin, England still believe they can win the Six Nations title. In the event of Wales beating Ireland in Cardiff there will be no unbeaten teams left in the championship and points difference will determine the outcome. Ireland’s points difference is +40, England’s is +25 while Wales is +5.