Steve Borthwick has received a major boost (Image: Getty)
Alex Mitchell is set to be fit for ’s opener against Ireland on Saturday in a huge boost for Steve Borthwick.
The scrum-half, who has been nursing a knee injury, trained fully in Girona on Monday and is expected to start in Dublin.
Mitchell missed the entire autumn series with a bulging disc in his neck and then injured his knee in Northampton’s Champions Cup win over Munster 10 days ago.
The 27-year-old has been England’s first-choice scrum-half since the last World Cup, when he was initially left out of the squad, and is a key cog in Borthwick’s side.
Mitchell is expected to partner Marcus Smith at fly-half with Henry Slade and Ollie Lawrence continuing their partnership in the centres with Freddie Steward inked in at full-back.
Slade and Lawrence have linked up in England’s last 10 Tests and Northampton’s in-form Fraser Dingwall is set to miss out again.
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Alex Mitchell has returned from a knee injury (Image: Getty)
Marcus Smith has fought off the challenge of Northampton’s Fin Smith and Sale’s George Ford for the No.10 shirt with the Saint expected to be a replacement at the Aviva.
Another Northampton man Tommy Freeman is certain to fill one of the wing berths but club mate Ollie Sleightholme is short of game time after a hamstring problem and Sale’s Tom Roebuck is pushing for a spot.
Up front Leicester’s, Ollie Chessum is expected to return at blindside flanker. Chessum missed the summer tour with a shoulder injury and the autumn internationals, when he injured his knee, training in Girona, in October.