England centre Henry Slade appears to be winning his fitness battle for Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations finale against Ireland.
Slade sustained a calf problem in training on Monday to place his availability for the Aviva Stadium clash in doubt, but forwards coach Matt Proudfoot revealed he could yet retain his place in midfield.
“Henry is doing rehab and is doing really, really well. He will be travelling with us to Dublin and we’ll give him all opportunity to be ready,” Proudfoot said.
“If he keeps progressing it’s going to look good for him.”
Slade has become a key component of England’s midfield, starting every match in this Six Nations and producing impressive displays against Wales and France.
If he fails to recover in time, Ollie Lawrence is the front runner to fill the void at outside centre with Paolo Odogwu and Elliot Daly also options.
England have added Joe Marchant to their squad as cover and the Harlequins back will travel to Dublin, with Eddie Jones naming his starting XV on Thursday morning.
