• Warburton passed fit to captain Wales at Twickenham
• Gatland makes three changes to side that beat Scotland in Cardiff

Wales captain Sam Warburton has been passed fit to face England at Twickenham on Saturday.

The flanker was forced to pull out of the RBS 6 Nations encounter against Scotland earlier this month with a thigh injury.

However the weekend off between the fixtures has allowed Warburton to recover and he will line-up against England as both sides look to maintain their unbeaten records in the tournament.

The inclusion of the Cardiff Blues player is one of three changes made by Head Coach Warren Gatland following Wales’ 27-13 victory over Scotland.

Warburton replaces Aaron Shingler in the back row, while fit-again lock Alun-Wyn Jones is preferred to Ryan Jones and hooker Ken Owens gains his first start for Wales after both Huw Bennett and Matthew Rees were sidelined by calf muscle strains.

Sale Sharks No.8 Andy Powell drops off the bench and there is also no place in the matchday 22 for either Shingler or lock Lou Reed.

"A fit-again Alun-Wyn Jones is selected based on his World Cup form and his experience as an international lock," Gatland said.

"He gave us a selection dilemma, but it has been a great problem to have.

"While Ryan Jones is particularly unlucky to miss out on this occasion, this is just the kind of competition for places we have been striving for.

"Ken Owens has been waiting patiently for his chance and, while injuries elsewhere have meant he gets his opportunity this weekend, we are expecting him to take it."

Ospreys hooker Richard Hibbard, who was called into Wales' training squad two days ago, will provide bench cover for Owens.

The Wales back division remains unchanged for the third successive Six Nations game, with wing George North having shaken off an ankle injury which forced him to make an early exit against Scotland.

Wales team to face England

15 L Halfpenny, 14 A Cuthbert, 13 J Davies, 12 J Roberts, 11 G North, 10 R Priestland, 9 M Phillips; 1 G Jenkins, 2 K Owens, 3 A Jones, 4 A-W Jones, 5 I Evans, 6 D Lydiate, 7 S Warburton (capt), 8 T Faletau

Replacements: 16 R Hibbard, 17 P James, 18 R Jones, 19 J Tipuric, 20 L Williams, 21 J Hook, 22 S Williams