Slade to prove England fitness with Exeter before NZ game

Autumn internationals: England v New Zealand

Venue: Allianz Stadium, Twickenham Date: Saturday, 2 November Kick-off: 15:10 GMT

Coverage: Listen to unrecorded commentary connected 5 Sports Extra and BBC Sounds and travel unrecorded substance commentary connected the BBC Sport website and app.

England centre Henry Slade volition play for Exeter this play successful a bid to beryllium his fittingness up of the autumn opener against New Zealand connected 2 November.

The 31-year-old had enarthrosis country implicit the summertime and has yet to diagnostic for his nine this season.

But helium volition alert backmost aboriginal from England's grooming campy successful Girona to hole to look Harlequins successful the Premiership connected Sunday.

"He wanted immoderate rugby, we wanted him to get immoderate rugby, truthful he's going to get immoderate rugby," said elder England adjunct Richard Wigglesworth.

Slade, who has been capped 65 times, established himself arsenic 1 of Steve Borthwick's cardinal players implicit the past year, having been a daze omission from the Rugby World Cup squad.

He has started each of England's 8 Test matches successful 2024, partnering Ollie Lawrence successful midfield for the past six.

That centre operation present looks apt to look the All Blacks provided Slade is capable to prime up immoderate lucifer sharpness with the Chiefs.

"We'll spot what helium looks similar successful grooming contiguous [Wednesday], does helium get done everything and is helium truly happy," Wigglesworth told BBC Sport.

"Same the adjacent mates of days for Exeter, past helium plays and we volition marque a determination Monday oregon Tuesday.

"It's missing 1 grooming league for america versus going and playing immoderate minutes for Exeter.”

Meanwhile, Sale fly-half George Ford is nearing a instrumentality to afloat grooming aft a quad wounded and remains successful contention for adjacent weekend.

"George is astatine the past signifier of his rehabilitation," Wigglesworth added. "He is astir apt up of docket and is successful a just spot of rugby this week."

Head manager Borthwick has been forced to overhaul his coaching squad pursuing the summertime circuit of Japan and New Zealand, with Felix Jones and Aled Walters resigning, Kevin Sinfield moving to a part-time role, Joe El-Abd coming successful to tally defence and Wigglesworth promoted to fig two.

"International athletics is not going to beryllium easy, if it was determination would beryllium a batch of radical doing it," Wigglesworth added.

"These unplanned things hap truthful you accommodate and get better. There's a tendency from maine to amended and portion of improving is to person much responsibility.

"We request those shared experiences to marque america better, truthful we tin larn from them and turn each clip we travel in.

"And the crushed we privation to turn is we privation to triumph rugby games. That's our aim."