England have received a boost after Mako Vunipola revealed that he will be ready to return to action in two weeks.

Vunipola injured his knee in December and the initial verdict was a three-month lay-off. But now the loose-head prop is ready to bolster England’s front row for the RBS Six Nations games against Italy, Scotland and Ireland.

“My rehab has gone well and I am ahead of schedule,” said the 26-year-old. “I expect to be back in two weeks. The guys at Sarries have been fantastic and they know I am working hard and also know when it’s time to ease off the work.

“We have a lot of guys who have gone through this rehab process this season and have been able to get back sooner than expected.”

Vunipola’s bid to make a rapid return for England is helped by the break between matches after next Saturday’s encounter against Wales in Cardiff, with Italy next on the schedule at Twickenham on February 26.

His return is also significant for Saracens, who are attempting to repeat their European Champions Cup and Premiership title double. Saracens have a Champions Cup quarter-final at home to in-form Glasgow Warriors on April 2 and need to bolster the loose-head side of their scrum.

Wales yesterday moved top of the table with a 33-7 win over Italy in Rome and their coach, Rob Howley, will demand a similarly “relentless” display in Cardiff against the reigning champions, who struggled to beat France 19-16 on Saturday but still registered a record 15th successive win.

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Howley said: ”We want to improve in all areas.

“We use the word relentless, with and without the ball. There were aspects of our game [against Italy] when we weren’t relentless with the ball.

“We will have to put England under more pressure than we did against Italy, so that’s going to be the challenge.”

Meanwhile, England lock George Kruis is due to undergo knee surgery tomorrow and could be out for three months.

Kruis, a key member of last year’s Grand Slam-winning side, requires surgery on the knee ligaments he damaged in training with England last week.

Wales also have injury worries going into the game, with fly-half Dan Biggar suffering a rib injury against Italy, while try scorer George North played for much of the match with his right thigh heavily strapped.