Long lost Lion Croft returns to the feast for Italy clash... a year on from last Test for England

By Chris Foy

PUBLISHED: 15:04 EST, 4 March 2013 | UPDATED: 19:35 EST, 4 March 2013

It felt like Christmas for Stuart Lancaster on Monday. His England squad reconvened in Surrey with three wins in this RBS Six Nations and a sudden, welcome addition to the ranks in the shape of a returning Lion.

Tom Croft is back, a year after his last Test appearance and 11 months since he suffered a serious neck injury in a game at Harlequins which he later discovered had very nearly resulted in paralysis.

Instead, the Leicester flanker set about a painstaking recovery and made a comeback for his club on January 4 against Worcester.

In the mix: Tom Croft has been added to the training squad ahead of the Six Nations clash

He was cleared for an England call-up after a storming game for the Tigers last Saturday. That 80-minute appearance at Welford Road was his fifth game back and, in all, the 27-year-old has played 295 minutes since his return.

Having been told by a surgeon that he can play on a weekly basis again, Croft has been summoned to rejoin England and is in contention to face Italy on Sunday, in what would be his 37th Test.

Lancaster already had a formidable raft of back-row players to choose from, but was evidently delighted by this development which puts one of the country's finest flankers back on his selection radar. 'It's great to have him back in,' said Lancaster.

'He's a Lion from 2009 and you saw from his performance at the weekend that he's back and in form. 'Tom is one of our most experienced players at the highest level.

'In the Six Nations last year he was outstanding and was a key leader as well as a key player. He brings a lot and he's worked extremely hard to get back to fitness and into contention.

'He feels good and ready to go.

An important part was his mentality and psychology coming back into the team. He's happy to be back.'

Confirmation: Stuart Lancaster (left) spoke from Pennyhill Park Hotel in Surrey

Back in: Toby Flood will start England's match against Italy

In a Sportsmail interview days after his comeback for Leicester in January, Croft spoke candidly about the moment he learned just how severe his injury had been.

He said: 'After the operation I went back to see the specialist and he said how close I'd come to something severe. It was a fractured vertebrae at C6 in three different places - a broken neck, coming as close as you can to being paralysed without i t actually happening.'

Lancaster praised the doctors and the Tigers for their efforts to ensure Croft completed a full recovery.

One aspect of that process has been a concerted drive to bulk up a naturally willowy frame. The results have been apparent in recent weeks.

'The break from the game has allowed him to put some size and some mass on,' said Lancaster. 'His physicality in the Sale game was excellent.'

Having excelled on the last Lions tour in 2009, Croft toiled to replicate that form in England colours in subsequent seasons, until reaching a staggering new personal peak in the victory over France in Paris last March.

Lancaster was enthused by what he saw of the athletic No 6 during the whole of that championship campaign, when he played all five matches.

Show stopper: Manu Tuilagi will be hoping to keep hopes of a Grand Slam alive

He said: 'That is the only time I've worked with him, but he was a great defender for us. He carried the ball well for us and also did some hard yards and in the set piece he was excellent. He was a very good offensive and defensive line-out option and good at re-starts, too.'

It would appear that Croft has every chance of being involved in the next instalment of the Grand Slam challenge at Twickenham on Sunday, especially after Courtney Lawes failed to make a strong case in the last game for an extended run in the back row at blindside.

Lancaster added: 'Tom hasn't trained with us in the autumn or the Six Nations so we've got to get him back up to speed with our setpiece, line-out and game plan.

'There is a consistency with what he's been involved in before but some of the calling systems have changed, so we have to get him back up to speed. But he's a good player and I'm sure he'll do that. 'The desire is to give him a chance to put his hand up for selection against Italy and Wales. That's the priority for me - getting our best team on the field.'

As expected, Lancaster confirmed that Owen Farrell will not be risked against Italy, as the fly-half continues his quest to shake off a quad strain in time for the clash with Wales on March 16.

Toby Flood will deputise at No 10 while Freddie Burns is fit to be selected among the replacements, as is the Wasps No 8 Billy Vunipola.