England waiting on Maro Itoje after being handed Kyle Sinckler boost

England have received mixed news on the eve of their pivotal Guinness Six Nations clash with Ireland after Maro Itoje emerged as a doubt through illness at the same time as Kyle Sinckler was given the all-clear.

Itoje became unwell overnight and was unable to take part in Friday’s captain’s run, resulting in replacement Joe Launchbury joining Charlie Ewels in the second row for the week’s final practice session.

England are optimistic that Itoje will recover in time for the Twickenham showdown but cannot afford to lose a forward of his calibre if Andy Farrell’s men are to be toppled in the penultimate round of the tournament.

Forwards coach Matt Proudfoot has revealed that if the Saracens lock is unable to recover in time, then Launchbury will start alongside Ewels with Nick Isiekwe or Ollie Chessum stepping up to the bench.

Sinckler’s availability hinged on coming through a fitness check on Friday after being unable to train all week because of a back issue, but the tighthead prop has been cleared for the make-or-break title showdown.

Adding to the late disruption, Proudfoot’s fellow forward coach Richard Cockerill became the latest member of England’s camp to test positive for Covid and he will not be present at Twickenham due to self-isolation.

“Kyle fully trained. He had a great training session and looked really good,” Proudfoot said.

“Maro was a little sick overnight so we’re just giving him an opportunity to recover, but we’re really optimistic he’ll be all right.”

Itoje sets the physical tone for England, particularly in defence where he is a master of disruption, and his loss would leave a hole at the heart of their pack, but Proudfoot insists Launchbury would be a capable deputy.

“Maro’s a world class player