The 30-year-old centre will visit a specialist over the coming days to learn if he requires surgery, which would result in a lengthier lay-off; Tuilagi suffered a grade three hamstring tear when scoring England’s opening try in the 27-26 victory over South Africa at Twickenham on Saturday
Last Updated: 24/11/21 3:38pm
Manu Tuilagi is facing at least six weeks out with the hamstring injury sustained in England’s victory over South Africa on Saturday.
Tuilagi suffered a grade three tear while scoring the opening try of the 27-26 victory at Twickenham and limped off with just six minutes gone.
The 30-year-old centre will visit a specialist over the coming days to learn if he requires surgery, which would result in a lengthier lay-off.
Sale boss Alex Sanderson said: “I’m really gutted. I’m gutted for him and gutted because we were managing him well and then something like that happens.”
England enjoyed November wins over Tonga, Australia and South Africa, and head coach Jones spoke to Sky Sports News to reflect on a successful Autumn Nations Series.
“I genuinely think teams go through three-year cycles and every three years you’ve got to regenerate the team,” Jones told Sky Sports News.
“With our team, we’ve been through a six-year cycle, starting in 2016. Post the Lions, the plan was always to regenerate the team.
“The Six Nations maybe exacerbated that a little bit and made it more evident which of the senior guys were dropping off, but that was always the plan.
“It’s a really good mix, but we’re going to have to keep working hard because people haven’t seen the best of this team yet. That’s the great thing – we want to find out how good we can be.”