Exeter and England wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso’s prospects of playing Test rugby this summer increased after the 22-year-old was selected for a two-day England training camp this week.
Feyi-Waboso has not played since dislocating his shoulder in December, with his comeback delayed by a setback suffered at an England camp in February.
Gloucester centre Seb Atkinson, Leicester back row Emeke Ilione and Sale midfielder Rekeiti Ma’asi-White are also included in a 33-strong group that does not include either British and Irish Lions, or players from Northampton and Bath, who are preparing for European finals this weekend.
Gloucester’s 20-year-old prop Afolabi Fasogbon, who was ruled out of Six Nations contention with an ankle injury, is named, along with the likes of Jamie George, George Ford and Ben Curry, who missed out on Lions selection earlier this month.
Forwards:
Joe Batley (Bristol Bears), Fin Baxter (Harlequins), Richard Capstick (Exeter Chiefs), Arthur Clark (Gloucester Rugby), Ben Curry (Sale Sharks), Theo Dan (Saracens), Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins), Afolabi Fasogbon (Gloucester Rugby), Jamie George (Saracens), Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers), Emeka Ilione (Leicester Tigers), Nick Isiekwe (Saracens), Jack Kenningham (Harlequins), Gabriel Oghre (Bristol Bears), Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Shark), Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks), Tom Willis (Saracens)
Backs:
Charlie Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby), Seb Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby), Oscar Beard (Harlequins), Joe Carpenter (Sale Sharks), Tobias Elliott (Saracens), Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs), George Ford (Sale Sharks), Rekeiti Ma’asi-White (Sale Sharks), Cadan Murley (Harlequins), Luke Northmore (Harlequins), Raffi Quirke (Sale Sharks), Harry Randall (Bristol Bears), Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks), Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs), Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers), Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers)
Feyi-Waboso had a breakout campaign last season, scoring his first international try off the bench in Six Nations defeat by Scotland, before crossing in all three matches on England’s summer tour of Japan and New Zealand.
His top-end pace brings an extra dimension to England’s attack and was sorely missed despite the team finishing second in this year’s Six Nations.
Exeter and England publicly disagreed over how his injury treated, with the recently-signed Professional Game Partnership giving England a greater say in the conditioning and rehabilitation of their centrally contracted players.
Exeter head coach Rob Baxter indicated earlier this month that Feyi-Waboso could get a run-out in the Chiefs’ final game of the season against Sale on 31 May.
Intriguingly, British and Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell suggested that he would supplement his initial 38-man selection for the tour of Australia with later call-ups for those who need a chance to prove their fitness.
England will play Argentina in Buenos Aires and San Juan on 5 July and 12 July respectively before a one-off Test against the United States on 19 July in Washington.
They will play an uncapped warm-up match against a France XV on 21 June at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.
