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London - England are looking to David Wilson as the cornerstone of their scrum against Ireland but the Bath prop is uncertain as to how long he will last in Saturday's Six Nations international at Twickenham.
As if going up against Ireland and Lions prop Cian Healy wasn't tough enough, Wilson will do so on the back of just 47 minutes of club rugby during the past two months following a calf injury.
Wilson has been called up after first-choice front-row forward Dan Cole was ruled out of the remainder of the Six Nations with a bulging disc in his neck that could yet end his season.
With the inexperienced tighthead Henry Thomas deemed too much of a novice to start Saturday's match, England coach Stuart Lancaster admitted on Monday his team were "not in an ideal situation".
But Wilson said Wednesday: "I think I'm ready to play on Saturday. I would have liked one more game to get my match fitness up, but that's the way it goes.
"I've got no idea how long I can play for. As long as possible I guess -- that's what I'm aiming for. I want to do as well as I can for as long as I can.
"Maybe 50 or 60 minutes. If I get through that and perform well, I'll be reasonably happy. I'm obviously eager to make a big impact."
Wilson damaged his calf in a training game before Christmas but, having overcome that injury, his return was delayed by a further two weeks because of a back problem.
The 28-year-old finally made his return to action in Bath's 27-23 Premiership victory at Exeter last Saturday.
"When I initially got the calf injury I thought it would be a few weeks, but I guess I'm not a medic. Maybe that's why I'm not a medic!" he said.
"It feels good now and I was well tested in the scrum by Exeter. It was a fast game and the pitch was heavy.
"It was a good workover and I am happy about that. It was a tough test. It might have looked hard and it was.
"I worked pretty hard last week so feel I will be 20 to 30 percent better this week."
Wilson added: "I'm aiming to do the basics well -- scrum well, line-out well, get through that, go for as long as I can and not let anyone down."
