Alex Mitchell has been ruled out of England’s final two matches of the Six Nations because of a hamstring injury.
Mitchell lasted 24 minutes of the 42-21 defeat by Ireland at Allianz Stadium on Saturday and will play no part against Italy on March 7 or against France a week later.
Jack van Poortvliet, who replaced Mitchell against Andy Farrell’s side, is favourite to start at scrum-half in Rome, with Raffi Quirke called up to the squad as a replacement.
“Alex has been scanned and seen the relevant specialists,” head coach Steve Borthwick said. “He’ll be out for a number of weeks, unfortunately, so won’t feature in the remainder of this championship.”
Centre Ollie Lawrence is a doubt for the visit to the Stadio Olimpico after receiving a knee injection after making his comeback from the same injury against Ireland.