George Ford has been handed the chance to revive his international career after the fly-half was called up to England’s Six Nations squad.
The 28-year-old fly-half has helped steer Leicester to the Premiership summit, but has not played for England since the defeat by Ireland last March.
But head coach Eddie Jones has turned to Ford to replace injured captain Owen Farrell.
In a squad update on Monday, Jonny May withdrew due to a knee injury.
Courtney Lawes, the favourite to skipper England in Farrell’s absence, is unavailable to train this week as he is undergoing head injury return to play protocols.
Versatile Saracens back Elliot Daly has been called up while club team-mate Nick Isiekwe has also joined as injury cover for Lawes.
Despite his outstanding club form, 77-cap Ford was overlooked for the autumn Tests with Harlequins’ Marcus Smith starring at number 10.
The extent of Farrell’s injury is still unclear and he has not been withdrawn from the England squad.
Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall confirmed on Sunday that Farrell would at miss at least the first part of the Championship after turning an ankle in club training in midweek. The 30-year-old is set to see a specialist this week.
Farrell’s ankle problem is separate to the one he picked up against Australia in November, an issue that ruled him out for the last two months.
As he outlined on the BBC Rugby Union Weekly podcast, Jones had planned to pitch Smith and Farrell together in the England midfield, but he will now be forced to reassess, with Mark Atkinson, Henry Slade, Joe Marchant and rookie Luke Northmore all centre options.
England meet in Brighton this week for a training camp before ramping up preparations for the Calcutta Cup showdown at Murrayfield on 5 February.
