Manu Tuilagi has suffered a fresh injury setback that has forced him to withdraw from England’s training squad for next month’s Tests against the USA and Canada.
Tuilagi has played three matches for Sale since recovering from an Achilles problem sustained in September, only to pick up a knock in Saturday’s Gallagher Premiership semi-final defeat by Exeter.
After an assessment by the Sharks, the 30-year-old has been pulled out of Eddie Jones’ 36-strong squad, who are preparing for Sunday’s ‘A’ international against Scotland.
No details of the nature or severity of Tuilagi’s injury have been released by Sale, but it is an alarming development given his extensive injury record.
He was the only senior player selected by Jones, who has rested other seasoned campaigners such as George Ford and Jonny May for the Tests at Twickenham on July 4 and July 10.
Northampton’s Fraser Dingwall has been called up as Tuilagi’s replacement and will be looking to make his mark on a squad that is being used to identify the next generation of England internationals.