Saints to make late decision on England duo ahead of Exeter clash

Corbisiero took a bang to the knee in the 37-5 Champions Cup defeat at Clermont Auvergne last Saturday, while Lawes was taken off at half-time with a shoulder injury.

Saints will hope the England duo are available for this weekend’s trip to Sandy Park as they bid to keep their bid to claim the Aviva Premiership top spot on track.

And forwards coach West is remaining hopeful over the fitness of two of his key men.

“We’re pretty good injury wise,” West said. “We’ve got some knocks in the squad, which we always have.

“Courtney’s been carrying a bad shoulder for a few weeks and we’ve been looking after him.

“We’ve trained well during the past couple of days and we’ll see how the lads turn up tomorrow, see what they’re like and make some decisions on what team we’re going to play.

“Lads improve day to day so we’ll see where he is in the next couple of days and make a decision on what’s best for Courtney and the team.”

And on Corbisiero, West added: “Corbs banged his knee, took a kick and it’s only a bruise so it was something that takes a few days to get over.

“We’ll keep a check on that to see where he’s at.

“Most people will be available for the weekend. Sometimes things improve quickly and then steady off, not going where you think they’re going to go.

“But we’ll assess that over the next couple of days and see where it’s at.”

Ben Foden, who is out for the season with a knee injury, and George North, who is being rested after being knocked unconscious in last month’s game against Wasps, are definitely out of Sunday’s game against the Chiefs.