England Jack Willis is back in the international fold for the first time in over a year after being named in the training squad ahead of this weekend’s Guinness Six Nations clash with France.
Willis suffered a serious injury in the 2021 Championship win over Italy at Twickenham, a game where he also scored his second international try.
He had to undergo surgery to repair the damage sustained to his left knee and a lengthy rehabilitation process.
But after a successful comeback for club side Wasps last month, England coach Eddie Jones has named him in the 34-man training squad for ‘Le Crunch’ where his team will aim to stop France claiming a first Grand Slam title since 2010.
The return of the 25-year-old is a big boost for England, with many players putting in a colossal shift during the defeat to Ireland in Round 4 – a match the hosts played for nearly its entirety with 14 players, after Charlie Ewels was dismissed.
One slight blow for Jones is the absence of Tom Curry, who will miss the trip to Paris after injuring his hamstring against Ireland.
However, other than that there are no fresh injury headaches for the England coach ahead of their final game of the 2022 campaign.
France v England concludes the Championship on Saturday, kicking-off at 8pm GMT.
Full England squad for Guinness Six Nations match against France;
Forwards; Alfie Barbeary (Wasps, uncapped) Jamie Blamire (Newcastle Falcons, 6 caps) Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers, 1 cap) Nic Dolly (Leicester Tigers, 1 cap) Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins, 8 caps) Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 35 caps) Jamie George (Saracens, 65 caps) Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers, 2 caps) Maro Itoje (Saracens, 55 caps) Nick Isiekwe (Saracens, 6 caps) Joe Launchbury (Wasps, 70 caps) Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, 92 caps) Joe Marler (Harlequins, 78 caps) Sam Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs, 13 caps) Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, 51 caps) Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 19 caps) Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, 27 caps) Jack Willis (Wasps, 3 caps)
Backs; Orlando Bailey (Bath Rugby, uncapped) Elliot Daly (Saracens, 56 caps) George Ford (Leicester Tigers, 80 caps) George Furbank (Northampton Saints, 5 caps) Ollie Hassell-Collins (London Irish, uncapped) Louis Lynagh (Harlequins, uncapped) Max Malins (Saracens, 14 caps) Joe Marchant (Harlequins, 11 caps) Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints, Luke Northmore (Harlequins, uncapped) Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs, 38 caps) Harry Randall (Bristol Bears, 5 caps) Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 47 caps) Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 9 caps) Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers, 9 caps) Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 116 caps)
