England receive double boost as Marcus Smith in contention to face Ireland

England fly-half Marcus Smith is in contention to feature against Ireland in the Six Nations after recovering from injury.

The Harlequins pivot has been suffering from a calf issue and missed the Red Rose’s opening three games against Italy, Wales and Scotland.

After rehabbing in camp for the past few weeks, Smith has rejoined the 36-man group and will compete with George Ford and Fin Smith for a starting spot against Ireland.

Another positive for Steve Borthwick

If the Quins playmaker starts, he will likely be joined by Alex Mitchell, who also returns after being absent for the Calcutta Cup encounter.

Mitchell replaces Harry Randall, while Smith comes in for Max Ojomoh, who drops out of the 23 despite impressing for the England A side against Portugal.

There is also a return for Immanuel Feyi-Waboso after he missed last week’s training to take part in an exam at Exeter University as part of his medical degree.

Will Muir, who came in for Feyi-Waboso, stays in the 36, though, with Steve Borthwick deciding to add an extra back.

As a result, flanker Tom Pearson is the player to give way as the head coach looks to get back on track following their previous Six Nations defeat.

England opened the campaign with victories over Italy and Wales, winning 27-24 and 16-14 respectively, but their Grand Slam dreams were ended at Murrayfield.

The Red Rose face the dominant side in the competition next weekend when unbeaten Ireland visit Twickenham before they finish with a clash against France.

England’s 36-man training squad

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, George Ford, 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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