Manu Tuilagi ruled out of England’s Six Nations clash against Scotland with groin injury

Centre limped out of the defeat against France early on but could return in time to face Ireland in round three later this month

Manu Tuilagi has been ruled out of England's Calcutta Cup clash against Scotland this Saturday after suffering a "low-grade groin strain", head coach Eddie Jones has revealed.

But the Australian is hopeful that Tuilagi will feature again in this year's Six Nations championship and is optimistic that he will return for England's third-round encounter against Ireland on 23 February, having been forced off in the 16th minute of last Sunday's 24-17 defeat against France.

"He has got a slight low-grade adductor strain," Jones said on Tuesday. "But hopefully he will be fit for Ireland, which is very good news – outstanding news."

Tuilagi played just one match in six for Leicester before the Six Nations began due to a similar groin issue, although the Samoan-born centre declared himself fully fit ahead of their championship opener at the weekend. However, he has had to endure serious groin injuries in the past that by his own admission has him fearing the worst whenever he suffers a setback, and the sight of him limping off at the Stade de France immediately raised concerns over his prospects of playing again this campaign.

England struggled for gainline success without their powerhouse centre, who endured four years of injuries that limited him to just one England appearance between the summer of 2014 and the 2018 autumn internationals.

But Tuilagi’s return to fitness coincided with England’s run to the Rugby World Cup final, with the Leicester Tigers midfielder scoring the opening try in the memorable semi-final victory over New Zealand three months ago.

With Tuilagi ruled out, Bath centre Jonathan Joseph is likely to be promoted from the replacements’ bench after coming on at the weekend, while Exeter’s Ollie Devoto and Northampton’s Fraser Dingwall are alternative options retained within Jones’s 34-man squad this week for the trip to Edinburgh. Elliot Daly is also an option, though Jones has never selected the Saracens back at centre, but Henry Slade remains injured.