England fears have been confirmed with centre Manu Tuilagi ruled out of the November Tests after hurting his groin in club rugby action last weekend.
Tuilagi had a different groin abductor problem than the one which forced him to miss three club games last month, but it was more severe, Leicester director of rugby Richard Cockerill said today.
Tuilagi limped off after 15 minutes of the 25-18 win over Ulster in the European Champions Cup on Saturday, and Cockerill expected him to miss at least "four-plus weeks."
"At this point we just need to find out exactly what the problem is and find the right treatment," Cockerill added.
"Last month, his groin was very tight so we rested it, rehabbed it, and he was feeling good. He trained properly and there were no issues. But clearly, there was something there that there shouldn't have been, and he's done something else now."
Tuilagi would have been a guaranteed starter against New Zealand in England's first autumn international on Nov. 8 at Twickenham, but he's left a void in midfield that will have to be filled by the likes of Luther Burrell, Brad Barritt, Jonathan Joseph or Kyle Eastmond when the England squad is named on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Ireland suffered a double blow when winger Andrew Trimble was ruled out of not only the November Tests, but possibly the Six Nations, after suffering ligament damage in one of his big toes while playing for Ulster in the Pro12.
Clubmate and centre Luke Marshall will miss six weeks with medial ligament damage to his left knee.
