Mako Vunipola has declared himself fit and ready to go with England's options at prop given a much-needed boost before Saturday's visit of Italy.

Rehabilitation on an Achilles injury saw the 30-year-old miss last weekend's shock 11-6 defeat at home to Scotland in the Guinness Six Nations opener, and tighthead Kyle Sinckler will also be back after he sat out the reverse due to suspension.

With Joe Marler also not available for this year's tournament, Eddie Jones started Ellis Genge and Will Stuart at prop and called upon the previously uncapped Beno Obano from the bench at Twickenham, but the returning wealth of experience will provide a welcome lift.

Vunipola said: "I have been training with the staff here but with Saracens before that and I am happy with how I have recovered. The Achilles is good to go.

"Naturally the more experience you get, you take it and understand what is expected of you as a player and what you need individually to get right.

"The only way you can respond is by playing better, but we have spoken about the weekend and addressed what we needed to. I think for us the key for us is how we bounce back.

"In terms of preparation for this week, we made a point that we can't be hung up on it too much. You can't get too low when you lose and you can't get too high when you win.

"We have spoke about how a big performance is not that far away, not miles away. There are obviously things we need to improve but for us as a pack of forwards we are very lucky we have an opportunity this weekend against a good Italian side.

"It is all about getting our stuff right and hopefully the performance will take care of itself."

Now aged 30, Vunipola's importance to England remains as high as ever and assistant coach Matt Proudfoot backed him to galvanise his team-mates as Jones' side look to get their title defence back on track.

"I am really confident he is fully match fit to be able to lead the pack in intensity if selected," the 49-year-old, who recovered from coronavirus recently, said.

"He has such a vast skill set. It is not just he is a dominant prop, he is a dominant player.

"Particularly at set-piece time, he brings an intensity which galvanises the rest of the team and he is prepared to lead from the front which ties the pack together and that is really important."