England lose fourth player from Six Nations squad

Plus: who has replaced Owen Farrell as captain and the latest on the replacements Borthwick has been forced to call up

Charlie Ewels has returned to the England squad to prepare for the start of the Six Nations after illness caused Nick Isiekwe to withdraw from a training camp in Girona.
Ewels, yet to appear in a Test match under Steve Borthwick, joins a group of back-five forwards that has already been depleted by the international retirement of Courtney Lawes and a knee injury to George Martin.
Maro Itoje, Ollie Chessum and Alex Coles are all in contention to feature against Italy on February 3, with two potential debutants, Ethan Roots and Chandler Cunningham-South, also capable of covering blindside flanker.
Steve Borthwick initially named a 36-man squad for the Six Nations featuring seven uncapped players. Since then, four players have withdrawn: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Nick Isiekwe, Oscar Beard and Ollie Lawrence. They have been replaced by Jamie Blamire, Charlie Ewels, Max Ojomah and Will Muir.
Telegraph Sport columnist Will Greenwood has offered analysis of each player selected
Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers, 18 caps)Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers, 107 caps)Alex Coles (Northampton Saints, 3 caps)Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks, 41 caps)Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins, uncapped)Ben Curry (Sale Sharks, 5 caps)Theo Dan (Saracens, 7 caps)Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins, 15 caps)Ben Earl (Saracens, 25 caps)Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears, 58 caps) Jamie George (Saracens, 85 caps) – captainJoe Heyes (Leicester Tigers, 7 caps)Nick Isiekwe (Saracens, 11 caps)Maro Itoje (Saracens, 76 caps)Joe Marler (Harlequins, 88 caps)Beno Obano (Bath Rugby, 3 caps)Tom Pearson (Northampton Saints, 1 cap)Ethan Roots (Exeter Chiefs, uncapped)Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 33 caps)Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, 30 caps)Added: Jamie Blamire (Newcastle Falcons, 6 caps)Added: Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby, 30 caps)
Oscar Beard (Harlequins, uncapped)Danny Care (Harlequins, 96 caps)Elliot Daly (Saracens, 64 caps)Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints, uncapped)Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs, uncapped)George Ford (Sale Sharks, 91 caps)Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints, 3 caps)George Furbank (Northampton Saints, 6 caps)Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby, 21 caps)Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints, 11 caps)Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks, uncapped)Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 57 caps)Fin Smith (Northampton Saints, uncapped)Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 30 caps)Ben Spencer (Bath Rugby, 4 caps)Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers, 31 caps)Added: Max Ojomoh (Bath, uncapped)Added: Will Muir (Bath, uncapped)
Borthwick is known to be fond of ‘hybrid’ forwards like Isiekwe that are able to move between lock and the back row. It could be that one of Itoje, Chessum or Coles wears the number six in Rome for the opening match against Italy.
Ewels won the last of his 30 caps in the 2022 loss to Ireland at Twickenham when he was sent off in the second minute for a dangerous tackle on James Ryan.
He subsequently returned to the wider squad and was part of the tour party that travelled to Australia in the summer of that year, but suffered a serious knee injury in training ahead of the Test series against the Wallabies.
In a bid to prove form and fitness for last year’s World Cup, the 28-year-old represented the Bulls in South Africa and received a call-up to Borthwick’s training group.
However, he was overlooked for the tournament as Itoje, Chessum, Martin and David Ribbans were picked. Ribbans has since traded Northampton Saints for Toulon in the Top 14.
Ewels, still renowned as a line-out general who is industrious around the field, can be buoyed by his domestic form as he links up with England. He has featured in nine of Bath’s 11 Premiership matches so far this season, starting eight of them as the West Country outfit have established a foothold in the top half of the table.
Indeed, the news is a blow to Bath, who will be without their former club captain, as well as their other England squad players already in Girona, for a pivotal derby against Bristol at Ashton Gate on Saturday, January 26.
In the absence of Owen Farrell, Borthwick has experienced hooker Jamie George as his captain for the Six Nations. 
“When I asked Jamie to be captain for this forthcoming series, I could sense his excitement and pride at being asked to lead his country. I am delighted that he has accepted the role,” Borthwick said.
“Jamie has been a respected leader in this group for a number of years now. With 85 England caps to his name, he is a quietly influential character who has an excellent tactical understanding and who sets high standards, whilst building strong relationships with the people around him. 
George, who has 85 international caps to his name, added: “I love playing rugby for England. I hope that everyone has seen how much it means to me, I have never shied away from that. I am so excited about where this team can go and bringing the fans on that journey with us is something that I care about deeply.”
You should consult each country’s individual union website for information about tickets to matches. Availability will vary greatly depending on which fixture you are hoping to get tickets for.
Predictably, both Ireland and France are the bookies’ favourites but with each having suffered squad losses, there might be value in England’s price. Scotland, Wales and Italy are not much favoured.
Odds correct on January 17, 2023