England's trio of injured stars Tom Roebuck, Fin Smith and Ollie Lawrence are nearing a return to full fitness in time for the next weekend's Calcutta Cup showdown against Scotland.
According to boss Steve Borthwick, Roebuck has made "good progress" but still needs "a few more days" to be fully fit after breaking his toe in November. Smith, who was England's starting fly-half for most of last year's Six Nations, is now back in full training after recovering from a calf injury, and Lawrence will not miss the match against Wales due to his knee problem but could return for the second match of the Six Nations.
The trio's return could provide significant competition for places in the team, particularly among England's centres. "He [Roebuck] is ahead of schedule but in an ideal situation he needs a few more days," said Borthwick. "That's another fantastic player into our mix." The coach also welcomed Smith back to full training, describing him as "fantastic" and adding that his return was "excellent news". Lawrence has been working hard to get back fit after picking up a knee injury playing for Bath last month, and is expected to be available soon.
However flanker Ben Curry, who withdrew from the squad last month, will not feature in the Championship and instead faces a long road to recovery. England's Six Nations campaign gets underway against Wales on 5 February before facing Scotland away a week later and Ireland in Twickenham on 21 February.
According to boss Steve Borthwick, Roebuck has made "good progress" but still needs "a few more days" to be fully fit after breaking his toe in November. Smith, who was England's starting fly-half for most of last year's Six Nations, is now back in full training after recovering from a calf injury, and Lawrence will not miss the match against Wales due to his knee problem but could return for the second match of the Six Nations.
The trio's return could provide significant competition for places in the team, particularly among England's centres. "He [Roebuck] is ahead of schedule but in an ideal situation he needs a few more days," said Borthwick. "That's another fantastic player into our mix." The coach also welcomed Smith back to full training, describing him as "fantastic" and adding that his return was "excellent news". Lawrence has been working hard to get back fit after picking up a knee injury playing for Bath last month, and is expected to be available soon.
However flanker Ben Curry, who withdrew from the squad last month, will not feature in the Championship and instead faces a long road to recovery. England's Six Nations campaign gets underway against Wales on 5 February before facing Scotland away a week later and Ireland in Twickenham on 21 February.
It's always frustrating when you can't play because of an injury, but it sounds like Tom Roebuck, Fin Smith, and Ollie Lawrence are almost back to their normal selves. With Roebuck having broken his toe in November, he might be a bit rusty, but with a few more days under his belt, I reckon he'll be good as new by the time they play Scotland 
. It's great news for England, especially with Smith and Lawrence back in full training - those lads can really give the Scottish team a run for their money! 
but seriously, Ben Curry's injury is super disappointing, hope he recovers ASAP 
! i'm really hyped about Tom Roebuck's progress - he's been injured for ages and now he's almost back to normal 
. Fin Smith too, that guy was on fire last year and it'll be awesome to see him back in action 
. And Ollie Lawrence, fingers crossed he gets back soon 
. the calcutta cup match against scotland is gonna be epic, can't wait to watch it! 
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. Meanwhile, Fin Smith's return to training is a massive boost for England's scrum-half situation - let's hope he can hold down that starting spot now 
. Anyway, bring on the Calcutta Cup match! 
And what's with all this "good progress" business? What does that even mean? Is it based on some sort of fitness tracker or something? 
We need concrete evidence here, not just coach-speak. 
Also, Curry's injury is a bummer but at least he knows what's going on... unlike Roebuck with his broken toe 
. Sources please! 
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, but it's good that he's getting the necessary time to get back fit. The England squad has been through a tough period with injuries, so it'll be interesting to see how they adapt and respond as a team 
. With this new crop of players coming back, I'm expecting some thrilling matches in the Six Nations - bring on the competition! 
smith was supposed to be engs flyhalf last year and now he's back on track, and roebuck is a game changer at 6 
I mean, not really, it's still awesome! Anywayz, so these English guys are coming back from injuries and that's defo gonna shake things up for the team. I'm low-key hyped to see Tom Roebuck back in the game, dude he's got that fly-half magic 
. And Fin Smith, yessss he was on fire last year, can't wait to see him back in action 
. What's up with Ben Curry tho? Long road to recovery and all that... just hope the team is ready for him when he comes back 
?
I think its good for england that these players are coming back, they have some tough games ahead of them especially against scotland 
️. hopefully they can bring some freshness to the squad and give other players a run for their money 
. but at the same time, ben curry's injury is a major blow, hope he recovers quickly so england can get him back in the mix 
. also, wales vs england is gonna be an epic clash on feb 5th! 
, and Lawrence's knee injury is finally healing up