England have been boosted by the news that Ben Youngs is likely to be fit for their tour of South Africa with the scrum-half almost two months ahead of schedule in his recovery from knee surgery.

Youngs suffered knee ligament damage in the opening minutes of England’s Six Nations opener with Italy on February 4 and he was expected to be out for four months after undergoing surgery.

That would have made him a doubt for the tour of South Africa but Leicester Tigers director of rugby Matt O’Connor has revealed the scrum-half is targeting his side’s game with Northampton on April 14 to make his comeback.

“Ben’s come back really positive,” said O’Connor. “He’s out the knee brace and running around doing his knee brace. The thinking is that he’ll be back around the time of the Northampton game which is a boost for us.”

And O’Connor will also be able to welcome back another England international this weekend with Ellis Genge available for the first time this year after shoulder surgery. The prop went under the knife after Leicester’s game with Wasps on December 2 but is available to make his comeback against the same opponents this weekend.