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England's Tuilagi out of Wales match with hamstring injury / Photo: ©
England's Tuilagi out of Wales match with hamstring injury
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 Tuilagi 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 blighted by injuries and even a few suspensions, including a 2015 World Cup from which he was excluded by England after assaulting a police officer.
In that time he was 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.
Y.Harris--SFF
