Alex Mitchell has been ruled out of England’s final two matches of the Six Nations because of a hamstring injury.
Mitchell lasted 24 minutes of the 42-21 defeat by Ireland at Allianz Stadium on Saturday and will play no part against Italy on March 7 or against France a week later.
Jack van Poortvliet, who replaced Mitchell against Andy Farrell’s side, is favourite to start at scrum half in Rome, with Raffi Quirke called up to the squad as a replacement.
“Alex has been scanned and seen the relevant specialists,” head coach Steve Borthwick said. “He’ll be out for a number of weeks, unfortunately, so won’t feature in the remainder of this championship.”
Centre Ollie Lawrence is a doubt for the visit to the Stadio Olimpico after receiving a knee injection after making his comeback from the same injury against Ireland.
Eight players have been released back to their clubs and will be in Premier Cup action this weekend, with George Furbank and Chandler Cunningham-South in particular having the opportunity to play their way into contention against Italy.
