Maro Itoje set to be available for England's Six Nations title defence

Saracens lock Maro Itoje is set to be available for England's Six Nations title defence after the Aviva Premiership club confirmed that he will need a maximum of four weeks recovery period.

Itoje underwent a surgery on his fractured jaw that he sustained while playing for his club Saracens in the Aviva Premiership clash against Harlequins at Twickenham Stoop following a collision with his England team-mate Mike Brown and was forced off the field with blood streaming from his mouth.

Initially, it was feared that the 23-year-old will spend a lengthy period on the sidelines but following a consultation with a specialist it was revealed that the British and Irish Lions star might return in four weeks time.

"Maro is probably three or four weeks away. He went to see the specialist who said a maximum of six weeks and he's already done a week and a half," director of rugby Mark McCall said.

The news will come as a relief to his club Saracens, who are currently on a six-match losing streak spread across all the competitions and are likely to have Itoje's service for the final two rounds of Saracens' Champions Cup group campaign against the Ospreys and Northampton.