LAST UPDATE | Oct 1st 2020, 12:45 PM
MANU TUILAGI WILL miss England’s autumn internationals, including their date against Ireland at Twickenham on 21 November.
The significance of Tuilagi’s absence cannot be underestimated given how Ireland have struggled in their last three fixtures against England’s physicality, where Tuilagi’s presence has been a massive factor in the end results, not just in terms of his ability to get across the gainline but also in the way England used him as a decoy runner in their 12-point win at Twickenham in February.
“Manu will be a loss to England and Sale,” said Steve Diamond, Sale’s director of rugby. “He’ll be out for six months. It’s brutal what we’re playing at the minute.
“Dan Biggar fell on him, so it was an accident. These things happen. I think it might have been a jinx, me saying before the game that we’ve got nine out of nine games out of him and boom, that happens. So I’ll keep my trap shut in future.
“Rather selfishly, after this game and the play-offs we probably wouldn’t have seen Manu until April with the England commitments and EPS rest periods.”
Meanwhile Courtney Lawes, who has an ankle injury, will find out next week if he will be back in time for the back-end of England’s autumn series – with the newly-created Autumn Nations Cup filling the void left by the absence of the traditional November series of internationals between European and Southern Hemisphere sides.
“Northampton Saints can confirm that Courtney Lawes sustained an ankle injury in last night’s defeat to Sale Sharks which requires further examination by a specialist next week, when the time frame for his recovery will become clearer,” said the club in a statement last night.