Six Nations 2018: Joe Marler and James Haskell named in squad despite being suspended for opener against Italy

Suspended duo will be allowed to train with Eddie Jones' squad but cannot play against Italy or Wales

James Haskell and Joe Marler have joined up with the England squad to train despite being suspended (Getty)

Joe Marler and James Haskell have been called up to train with England ahead of their opening Six Nations match against Italy this Sunday, despite being suspended from the first two rounds of the championship.

Eddie Jones has no fewer than 18 players either unavailable or doubtful for the trip to Rome, leaving him desperately short on players that can train at 100 per cent in the build-up to their title defence.

With England looking to win a third championship in a row – and become the first nation to do so outright in its 135-year history – rival head coaches have given the Australian short shrift when it comes to player shortages, given that England have the largest player base and richest union in the game.

But Jones evidently feels that he will benefit from having Marler and Haskell, both suspended for offences committed while playing for their clubs, in the 36-man training squad over the next two weeks, while it will undoubtedly benefit the pair as they look to maintain their fitness levels with a view to coming back into the side from the third round onwards.

Marler is currently serving a six-week ban that he picked up in Harlequins’ Premiership defeat by Sale Sharks at the start of the month after being found guilty of striking Sale flanker TJ Ioane in the head with his shoulder, meaning that he will be unavailable for the away trip to Italy this Sunday and the visit of Wales to Twickenham on Saturday 10 February.

Haskell will also miss the same matches after he was found to have committed a dangerous tackle on Quins centre Jamie Roberts during Wasps’ European Champions Cup loss two weeks’ ago, with the back-row receiving a four-week ban that will see him return in the same week as Marler ahead of the trip to Murrayfield to take on Scotland on Saturday 24 February.

The rest of the squad named for this week’s curtain-raiser were named in Jones’s Six Nations squad earlier this month that flew out to Portugal last week for a warm-weather training camp, with the players now back at their Bagshot training base ahead of their departure to Rome this weekend.