England expect Ellis to be fit
England expect second rower Gareth Ellis to be fit for Saturday's Gillette Four Nations final against Australia.
The Wests Tigers forward was forced to watch last Saturday's 28-6 win over New Zealand in Hull after failing to recover from a back injury sustained in the 36-20 defeat by the Kangaroos.
Warrington prop Garreth Carvell was drafted in as the first change in four matches but coach Steve McNamara told a press conference at Elland Road on Monday that Ellis is close to fitness and, with no fresh injuries, he expects to be able to pick from a full-strength squad. He said: "Gareth was very close to being fit and I would be surprised if he wasn't available this week."
Australia coach Tim Sheens is Ellis' club boss at Wests Tigers and knows the importance of the experienced forward to England.
"I think they missed him when they lost him against us," he said. "He was having a strong game. He's a quality player and you want to have all your people available if you can."
Sheens' squad is down to 21 following the loss through injury of full-back Billy Slater and centre Willie Tonga and the return to Australia of hooker Robbie Farah for personal reasons.
Captain Darren Lockyer will return for his 59th and final appearance after resting a shoulder injury in Sunday's 56-14 win over Wales while forward Tony Williams is available after completing a one-match ban.
Sheens expects second rower Luke Lewis to recover from the sickness that forced him to withdraw from the game in Wrexham but he has yet to announce a replacement winger following Darius Boyd's switch to full-back.
"We've got a couple of bumps and bruises from last night and I've got to decide on a wingman," said Sheens. "We're pretty close to where we want to be but we'll make that decision later in the week.
"There was a bit of a bug that went through the place and Lewis went down pretty bad with it. He hadn't been eating and we didn't want it to get any worse, particularly with the short turn around. But he's eating a lot better this morning so we expect him to be right."
