FORMER Lymm High School student Alex Mitchell could play in next month’s Rugby Union World Cup after all.

Despite some decent efforts for England off the bench in the Six Nations, when the Northampton Saints scrum-half clearly livened up the team’s attack, he was a shock omission from Steve Borthwick’s 33-man squad.

However, Borthwick’s first choice number nine Jack Van Poortvliet from Leicester Tigers has had to withdraw in order to undergo surgery on an ankle injury sustained against Wales at Twickenham last Saturday and now the ex-Lymm Rugby Club starlet has been called in to replace him.

Mitchell, 26, played in four of England’s five games during the Six Nations and will now compete with veterans Ben Youngs and Danny Care for the World Cup shirt in France.

England play Ireland in Dublin today as their Summer Nations Series continues in the build up to their opening World Cup game against Argentina in Marseille on September 9.

Prior to turning professional, Mitchell progressed through the junior ranks to the senior team at Lymm Rugby Club.

His first senior England cap came under previous head coach Eddie Jones when he was a try scorer on his debut in the Autumn International demolition of Tonga 69-3 at Twickenham in November, 2021.

Mitchell, a Premiership Rugby Cup winner with the Saints in 2019, also gained senior representative honours as an uncapped international against the Barbarians in 2020 and impressed by setting up two tries.

His first taste of the Twickenham turf though came in a Lymm jersey as part of the club's victorious National Under 12s Cup side, while with Lymm High School he was part of the under 18s team that reached the NatWest Cup quarter finals on two occasions.

Maidstone-born Mitchell has earned England caps at every age group from under 16s.