Scotland v Italy, Six Nations, Murrayfield, March 19
Brown passed fit to face Azzurri
ESPNscrum Staff
March 18, 2011
Scotland No.8 Kelly Brown is stretchered off after a blow to his head, England v Scotland, Six Nations, Twickenham, England, March 13, 2011
Kelly Brown has been cleared to play after concussion © Getty Images
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Scotland's Kelly Brown has been passed fit to face Italy on Saturday, although the Saracens No.8 could still miss the Murrayfield clash to be at the side of his pregnant wife, who is due to give birth.

The 28-year-old has been cleared of the concussion he suffered in last Sunday's 22-16 loss to England and will start providing he does not receive news that his wife is going into labour.

The Scots have already lost winger Max Evans to injury, with his place in the starting line-up going to the Ospreys' Nikki Walker.

"My wife is due pretty much any day, so if I get that call we'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it," he said. "I would certainly love to be there, so if I get that call I think I'll have to go."

Brown was injured in a collision with England's Matt Banahan last weekend and was carried from the field on a stretcher as a precaution.

"I was aware I probably couldn't play on, but I was asking if I could get up and walk off, mainly to convey to my friends and family that I was okay," he said."I'm very glad. Had I missed this week I would have felt it was a case of the job's not done."

Scotland have lost three of their last four Six Nations meetings with Italy, who will enter the match on a high following their 22-21 defeat of France in Rome last Saturday.

"We need to really nail down our set-piece. Our set-piece last week was disappointing and the Italian set-piece is a very strong weapon for them," Brown said. "That's a big focus but it's a challenge we're looking forward to. They had a fantastic win last week and the impact of that for Italian rugby is huge. They'll come here full of confidence and they will give us a very hard test."

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