England nine Mitchell set to be fit for Ireland

Alex Mitchell injured his knee in Northampton's victory over Munster earlier this month

Men's Six Nations: Ireland v England

Venue: Aviva Stadium Date: Saturday, 1 February Kick-off: 16:45 GMT

Coverage: Listen live on BBC Radio 5 Live; text commentary and highlights on BBC Sport website and app; watch on ITV1.

Scrum-half Alex Mitchell is set to be fit for England's Six Nations meeting with Ireland in Dublin on Saturday.

The 27-year-old had been a doubt with a knee problem but took a full part in training in Girona, Spain on Monday morning.

Mitchell was one of England's key players in the first part of 2024 but missed the Autumn Nations Series because of a neck injury.

England face double defending champions Ireland on Saturday at Aviva Stadium.

Mitchell's return to fitness means club-mate Henry Pollock drops out of the 36-man squad, and he has left Girona to join up with England Under-20s.

England boss Steve Borthwick was hit by a string of withdrawals at the start of last week, with Jamie George, Alex Coles, Alex Dombrandt and Jack van Poortvliet all dropping out of the squad.

But Mitchell's fitness is a major boost as England look to win in Dublin for the first time since 2019.

Borthwick is expected to select Marcus Smith to partner Mitchell at half-back, after the Harlequins playmaker wore the number 10 shirt throughout the summer and autumn.

Henry Slade and Ollie Lawrence look set to pair up at centre for the 11th consecutive Test, with Freddie Steward set to start at full-back in place of the injured George Furbank.

Slade (left) was left out of England's squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup but has now established himself as one half of the team's first-choice centre partnership with Ollie Lawrence (right)

Experienced centre Slade, 31, says continuity of selection is vital as England look to turn around a disappointing 2024 and take a major scalp in Dublin.

"The more you play with someone the more you get to know what they are doing in every situation," Slade told BBC Sport.

"The more I train with Ollie the more I know what he likes and when he likes to be given the ball.

"My job as a second playmaker is to get the ball into players like his hands and Freemo's [Tommy Freeman] hands on the outside, just to let them do what they do."

Slade was part of the last England team to win at the Aviva, scoring two tries in a 32-20 win six years ago.

"It was a great night for us. We just attacked that game with everything from the start, and it is going to have to be nothing less than that [on Saturday]," he said.

"You can't go [to Dublin] in your shell, you have to go and put your game on the pitch and be physical, and just be excited about the challenge."