No Tuilagi for England

Manu Tuilagi is likely to miss all four of England's Tests in November, after suffering a recurring groin injury at the weekend.

It was initially thought that the centre would only miss the Test against the All Blacks next month, following the injury he sustained during Leicester's 25-18 victory over Ulster in the European Champions Cup. Prior to the Ulster game, Tuilagi had made his return against Harlequins after a three-week groin injury lay-off.

He was again ruled out for a minimum three weeks this time, but according to Leicester coach Richard Cockerill, he's expected to be on the sidelines for much longer.

'I don't think he'll be fit for the autumn internationals. You would imagine it will be four-plus weeks before he is back on the field,' said Cockerill. 'The club and England are very closely aligned. We had the doctor in yesterday, everyone is aware of the situation and it's continual dialogue. He felt his groin go and there was no power. For Manu to come off immediately after that was unusual. He was in a fair bit of pain.'

England's match against New Zealand at Twickenham will be followed by Tests against South Africa, Samoa and Australia.

Photo: Clive Rose/Getty Images

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