England have been dealt a further blow ahead of their Twickenham clash with Ireland with the loss of Mako Vunipola.
Vunipola, who would have earned his 60th England cap on Sunday, was today omitted from Eddie Jones' 33- man squad as he has gone back to Tonga for family reasons.
England lost their opening fixture to France in Paris before overcoming Scotland at a rain-soaked Murrayfield in the second round.
The 29-year-old Lions prop didn't feature in Paris but started the Scotland game.
Billy, his brother, was already ruled out with a forearm injury as Ireland chase a quick-fire Triple Crown triumph after home victories over Scotland and Wales in their opening two Six Nations games.
Jones has named centres Manu Tuilagi and Henry Slade in his squad for this week following their recovery from injury.
