Henry Slade and Courtney Lawes ruled out of England's Six Nations opener
Henry Slade is recovering from a hip injury
©PA
England will miss the services of Henry Slade and Courtney Lawes in their upcoming Six Nations opener against Scotland due to injuries.
Slade sustained a hip injury during Exeter's Heineken Champions Cup game against Castres and is unavailable for the encounter on 4th February.
Meanwhile, Lawes limped off the field during Northampton's game last weekend and is expected to miss at least the game against the Dark Blues.
"This is a very important week for us as we prepare for our first game against Scotland," Borthwick said.
"We know that Scotland are an excellent side with a great coaching team led by Gregor Townsend. They're a settled squad who have been together a long time and have dominated this fixture in recent seasons.
"They will be coming to Twickenham full of confidence.
"We know we have a lot of work to do. The team trained very hard last week and are ready to go again this week.
"We can't wait to run out at Twickenham again in front of our incredible supporters."
Meanwhile, hooker Jamie George and wing Anthony Watson are added to the 36-man squad with the announcement on the matchday squad expected to be made by Steve Borthwick on Tuesday.
England squad:
Forwards: Ollie Chessum, Dan Cole, Ben Curry, Alex Dombrandt, Tom Dunn, Ben Earl, Ellis Genge, Jamie George, Joe Heyes, Jonny Hill, Nick Isiekwe, Maro Itoje, Lewis Ludlam, David Ribbans, Bevan Rodd, Sam Simmonds, Kyle Sinckler, Mako Vunipola, Jack Walker, Jack Willis
Backs: Owen Farrell, Tommy Freeman, Ollie Hassell-Collins, Dan Kelly, Ollie Lawrence, Max Malins, Joe Marchant, Alex Mitchell, Cadan Murley, Fin Smith, Marcus Smith, Freddie Steward, Manu Tuilagi, Jack van Poortvliet, Anthony Watson, Ben Youngs
