England call up Coles and Hill in 36-player squad

Alex Coles (left) and Ted Hill (right) will join England's squad as they prepare to face the All Blacks

England head coach Steve Borthwick has called up Northampton lock Alex Coles and Bath back row Ted Hill to his training squad before the opening Autumn Nations Series match with New Zealand on Saturday.

Hill is rewarded after his player of the match display after Bath's Premiership win over Sale, while Coles continues to impress for Saints.

Sale fly-half George Ford is also recalled, having recovered from a quad injury sustained in early October.

Leicester forward Ollie Chessum drops out of the squad as he awaits assessment on a knee injury picked up during England's training camp in Girona last week, while Charlie Ewels is also out as he goes through return-to-play protocols.

Sale wing Tom Roebuck is also dropped from the 36-player squad that will prepare to play the All Blacks.

Centre Henry Slade marked his return from shoulder surgery in Exeter's Premiership defeat by Harlequins on Sunday, successfully playing 55 minutes in his first game this season.

The 31-year-old, who has been a regular under Borthwick this year, was released from England's training camp in Girona to prove his fitness, and he hopes to have done enough to be involved against New Zealand.

"The most important thing was getting back on the pitch and getting into some game scenarios," Slade told TNT Sports.

"It is an exciting week, a big week for the country. I look forward to putting my best foot forward, and hopefully I am involved."

The match is the first of four fixtures for England who also play Australia, South Africa and Japan at Allianz Stadium in November.

England squad

Forwards

Fin Baxter (Harlequins), Dan Cole (Leicester), Alex Coles (Northampton), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale), Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins), Ben Curry (Sale), Tom Curry (Sale), Theo Dan (Saracens), Trevor Davison (Northampton), Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins), Ben Earl (Saracens), Ellis Genge (Bristol), Jamie George (Saracens), Ted Hill (Bath), Nick Isiekwe (Saracens), Maro Itoje (Saracens), Joe Marler (Harlequins), George Martin (Leicester), Will Stuart (Bath), Sam Underhill (Bath).

Backs

Elliot Daly (Saracens), Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter), George Ford (Sale), Tommy Freeman (Northampton), George Furbank (Northampton), Ollie Lawrence (Bath), Alex Lozowski (Saracens), Luke Northmore (Harlequins), Harry Randall (Bristol), Henry Slade (Exeter), Ollie Sleightholme (Northampton), Fin Smith (Northampton), Marcus Smith (Harlequins), Ben Spencer (Bath), Freddie Steward (Leicester), Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester).