- England used a makeshift back three at their Portugal training camp on Friday
- Denny Solomona, Anthony Watson and Jonny May made up the attacking trio
- Mike Brown has blurred vision and is ‘borderline’ to play against Italy next week
- Eddie Jones has been left with dwindling options due to an ongoing injury crisis
England trained with a back three of Denny Solomona, Anthony Watson and Jonny May in Portugal on Friday as they continued to monitor the fitness of Mike Brown.
Solomona lined-up on the right wing in a fast-paced training session at the squad’s training camp in the Algarve as Eddie Jones assesses his dwindling options in the position due to an escalating injury crisis.
Brown has been suffering from blurred vision and had been rated ‘borderline’ by Jones to take part in the NatWest 6 Nations opener against Italy on Sunday week with Watson poised to deputise at full-back in Rome.
England trained with a back three of Denny Solomona, Anthony Watson (R) and Jonny May (L)
May lined-up on the left wing in a training session at the squad’s training camp in the Algarve
Denny Solomona took up his position on the right wing ahead of the Six Nations opener
England are already having to cope without their two premier No 8s, Billy Vunipola and Nathan Hughes, along with Wasps flyer Elliot Daly, banned prop Joe Marler and a host of other squad casualties.
Harlequins pair Chris Robshaw and Brown have been unable to take part in training at this week’s Red Rose camp.
Both were described as doubtful for the opener against Italy in Rome on February 4 while Maro Itoje and Courtney Lawes have also been bystanders due to a hip injury and illness respectively.
Henry Slade will also be out of action for three or four weeks and fellow Exeter back Jack Nowell is facing a similar spell on the side-lines while Quins prop Kyle Sinckler is facing a six-to-eight-week lay-off.
Despite the injury concerns, Jones revealed that Worcester’s Lions centre Ben Te’o is ‘absolutely flying’ in training and is in contention to play in Rome, despite being out of action since late October.
Watson is poised to deputise at full-back for the injured Mike Brown against Italy next Sunday
Eddie Jones was assessing his dwindling options in the position due to an injury crisis
England are already having to cope without a host of players as they aim to retain their title
Jones has revealed that Worcester’s Lions centre Ben Te’o is ‘absolutely flying’ in training