Lewsey fit for Leicester

Double-chasing London Wasps, reeling from the loss of All Black prop Craig Dowd, received a boost today when England fullback Josh Lewsey reported fit to play against Leicester in the final Zurich Premiership match of the season at Wycombe on Saturday.

Lewsey injured his groin helping Wasps reaching the Heineken Cup Final, against Toulouse at Twickenham on 23 May, and missed the 28-25 defeat by Gloucester on Saturday. However, he will today inform Warren Gatland, the Wasps director of rugby, that the injury has healed sufficiently for him to face Leicester in a game the club must win to have any chance of finishing top.

If Bath, one point ahead of Wasps, lose at home to Gloucester and Gatland's men dispose of inform Leicester, then Wasps will go directly into the Premiership playoff final at Twickenham on 29 May, avoiding a play-off against Northampton or Gloucester.

While Lewsey has good news for Gatland, England lock Simon Shaw rates himself only 50-50 to make the team suffering a recurrence of a rib injury. With Dowd out for the rest of the season with an Achilles injury, Wasps need Shaw's big-match experience and power against a Leicester side led by Martin Johnson.

Dowd will undergo a scan on his damaged leg today to discover the extent of the injury.

Lewsey said: "It's a horrendous blow to lose Craig, who is one of the outstanding overseas players to have come into the Premiership in recent years.

"It means that we will be looking to prop Tim Payne to step up to the mark again, just as he did against Gloucester."