Six Nations 2018: Nathan Hughes poised for Calcutta Cup return after being retained in 25-man England squad

Nathan Hughes is in line to return for England for this Saturday’s Calcutta Cup clash against Scotland after being retained by head coach Eddie Jones, with James Haskell providing cover for his Wasps teammate after also being kept on.

Jones named a 25-man squad on Tuesday evening with the bulk of the squad featuring the same players that have recorded back-to-back Six Nations victories over Italy and Wales. With the trip to Murrayfield up next for Jones and his side, the only issue came in the back-row where he is unable to call on the injured Sam Simmonds – who suffered a shoulder injury in the 12-6 win over Wales that will keep him out of this match and possibly the next round against France – with England short on No 8 options.

But the return to fitness of Hughes eased those problems for Jones, with the No 8 coming through his return to action 10 days ago in Wasps’ Premiership victory over Harlequins before joining up with the England squad for their training sessions against Georgia last week.

Given that Hughes has only played 26 minutes since mid-December, Jones has also decided to keep Haskell in as cover, with the back-row able to cover No 8 if needed.

With Haskell likely to be left out of the squad if Hughes is passed fully fit and selected, Jones will need to drop one other player from his current squad. That player will come from the collection of locks that are included, with Maro Itoje, Joe Launchbury, Courtney Lawes, George Kruis and Charlie Ewels all retained for this weekend’s trip north of the border, and given that Itoje, Launchbury and Lawes have started both matches so far this championship with Kruis among the replacements, that man is likely to be the Bath second-row Ewels.

Jonathan Joseph also looks set to retain his No 13 shirt despite Jones having the option of bringing Ben Te’o back into the side. Jones was wary of pushing Te’o too hard on his return from injury after the victory in Italy, with Joesph recalled for the visit of Wales to Twickenham. However, Joseph’s performance against Scotland in last year’s 61-21 record victory – in which he scored a hat-trick of tries – looks to have given him the edge over Worcester centre Te’o, who is likely to join Jack Nowell among the replacements as Anthony Watson looks to have run off leg injury suffered against Wales.

Both Joe Launchbury and Owen Farrell, who missed training last week, are expected to return for the Scotland clash, although there are still fears over the later after he sat out training for the second consecutive week. It's hoped that Farrell will return to a full training schedule on Friday, ahead of the England squad travelling to Scotland on Friday. Loosehead prop Joe Marler is also retained in the squad ahead of what will be an immediate return from suspension along with Haskell. With Watson, Farrell and Launchbury fit, England are only missing three first-team regulars in Billy Vunipola, Ben Youngs and Elliot Daly, along with the absent Simmonds.

Backs: Mike Brown (Harlequins), Danny Care (Harlequins), Owen Farrell (Saracens), George Ford (Leicester Tigers), Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby), Jonny May (Leicester Tigers), Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs), Ben Te’o (Worcester Warriors), Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby), Richard Wigglesworth (Saracens).

Forwards: Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby), Jamie George (Saracens), Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints), James Haskell (Wasps), Nathan Hughes (Wasps), Maro Itoje (Saracens), George Kruis (Saracens), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints), Joe Launchbury (Wasps), Joe Marler (Harlequins), Chris Robshaw (Harlequins), Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby), Mako Vunipola (Saracens), Harry Williams (Exeter Chiefs).