Ongaro has been called upon as a precaution while they await results on Leonardo Ghiraldini’s foot injury which forced him off during the 24-3 defeat and has swelled Italy’s squad to 31.

The Italy front row has had a somewhat cursed tournament after losing replacement prop Fabio Staibano in the same game and stalwart Martin Castrogiovanni in the 19-14 defeat to England.

And Benetton Treviso scrum-half Tobias Botes is due for tests after falling victim to a shoulder injury.

Italy host Scotland at the Stadio Olimpico with both teams set to slug it out to avoid the Wooden Spoon after losing all four of their tournament matches so far.

Italy have endured yet another campaign of plucky performances combined with heavy defeats and came close to upsetting England in their four-point defeat.

If Italy do win on March 17 it will be only the fourth time in 13 attempts that the Italians have managed to avoid finishing at the bottom of the RBS 6 Nations table since entering the tournament in 2000.