England centre Manu Tuilagi to miss Six Nations and rest of Premiership season with cruciate knee ligament injury

Ruled out: Manu Tuilagi
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Chris Jones4 January 2017

Manu Tuilagi has been ruled out for the rest of the season due to significant knee ligament damage, raising fears about the England centre’s ability to return to Test rugby.

Tuilagi sat out 15 months of action following a serious groin injury and made the last of his 26 England appearances during last season’s Grand Slam campaign — his only cap under head coach Eddie Jones.

The Lions centre was hurt seven minutes into Leicester’s home defeat by Sarries on Sunday and a scan in London has confirmed his season is over, ruling him out of this summer’s Lions tour to New Zealand. It is a terrible setback for the 25-year-old who was supposed to be the player England would use to batter defences.

However, Tuilagi has been beset by injury and there were real fears he would not fully recover from the complicated groin problem that included splitting his pubic bone.

The centre has shown incredible mental strength to fight back and regain his Leicester place and was rewarded with a spot in the England training squad currently with Jones in Brighton.

Then came the knee ligament injury as he was double tackled and an opponent fell on the back of his right leg. Tuilagi was immediately taken off by Leicester, who the following day sacked Richard Cockerill. The club’s former director of rugby has done his best over the past two years to help the powerful centre return to rugby.

The stark facts show that Tuilagi has only started 11 Premiership matches in the past three campaigns and that will take a mental toll on a player who lives for the sport and is part of one of the great rugby families with his brothers appearing for Samoa.

With Tuilagi last starting a Test for England in 2014, Jones has no option but to erase the 25-year-old’s name from his list of potential centres until the start of next season. Tuilagi now faces yet another long period of rehabilitation and that will test his mental and physical strength.

Jones will now use Worcester’s Ben Te’o as his main midfield battering ram with the former rugby league player making a positive contribution to helping England finish last year unbeaten, winning 13 Tests and they are favourites to retain the Six Nations despite a host of injuries, now including the luckless Tuilagi.

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