Manu Tuilagi’s injury-blighted England career suffered yet another setback on Thursday when the powerhouse centre was ruled out of the side to play Wales in the Six Nations this weekend just hours after being named in the starting XV by head coach Eddie Jones.
An England statement said that, following a scan on Thursday, Tuilagi had suffered a “low grade hamstring injury”.
Harlequins’ Joe Marchant has been recalled and will train with England on Friday ahead of Saturday’s match at Twickenham.
Jones now intends to name his revised team on Saturday.
England had hoped the match against reigning Six Nations champions Wales would mark Tuilagi’s return to Test rugby following three months out with a hamstring problem suffered in a tense 27-26 win over South Africa at Twickenham in November – a match where he scored a try against the world champions.
Thursday’s injury is on the same side as the one he suffered against the Springboks, dashing Tuilagi’s hopes of a first Six Nations start in nearly two years.
At his best, the 30-year-old has a physical presence few midfielders can match and he is also deceptively skilful.
But since making his international debut in a World Cup warm-up against Wales 11 years ago, Tuilagi’s career has been marred by injuries and even a few suspensions, including a 2015 World Cup from which he was excluded after assaulting a police officer.
In that time he has won 46 England caps yet also missed 79 Tests for the Red Rose.
Those figures are even more stark since Jones took over as England coach in 2016, with Tuilagi now absent for 51 out of what will be 72 internationals this weekend.
England have struggled to field a settled midfield duo since the era of Mike Tindall and Will Greenwood, who starred in a 2003 World Cup final win against an Australia side coached by Sydney-raised Jones.
Since Tuilagi’s debut alone, England have deployed 23 centres in no fewer than 49 different combinations.
Jones, explaining why he had recalled Tuilagi for a match pivotal to England’s hopes of winning this season’s Six Nations title, said earlier Thursday: “Manu is a gain-line accumulator, isn’t he?
“He wins the gain line consistently, draws defenders in which creates space for other options,” the veteran Australian boss added. “He does that better than anyone else in the world when he’s at full tilt.”
Both England and Wales have one win and one defeat from their opening two matches this Six Nations and another defeat for either side would likely end their respective bids to be crowned champions.
© Agence France-Presse
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