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England add Croft to squad

London - Leicester flanker Tom Croft was added to England's training squad on Monday ahead of this weekend's Six Nations fixture against Italy, while Owen Farrell is set to miss the Twickenham clash.

Croft has recovered from a serious neck injury which initially looked set to keep him out for the entire Six Nations campaign and, after playing in last weekend's win over Sale, England coach Stuart Lancaster has opted to call up the 27-year-old.

"Tom has been seen by a specialist, played back-to-back games and played 80 minutes at the weekend and did extremely well," said Lancaster, whose side are chasing a first Grand Slam since 2003.

"In consultation with the medical teams and (Leicester director of rugby) Richard Cockerill, we've brought him back into the camp. He's available for Italy and Wales."

However, Croft's promotion is offset by the loss of Farrell, who was unable to recover from the thigh strain sustained against France, meaning Toby Flood will start against Italy.

"Owen's still got the quad injury which I want to make sure has settled down completely. It's fair to say that you can read into that that Toby Flood will be starting," Lancaster said.

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