Tuilagi misses tour of Australia due to knee surgery

England and Sale Sharks centre Manu Tuilagi will miss this summer’s tour of Australia to have surgery on a knee problem.

The 31-year-old has played only six games for England since the 2019 World Cup final as injuries continue to frustrate his career.

Club side Sale said they and England had decided “a summer of rest and a full pre-season is the best course of action” for Tuilagi.

His absence poses a continuing problem for England head coach Eddie Jones.

Jones is believed to have identified a lack of midfield power and pace out wide as key factors in an underwhelming Six Nations that featured three defeats in five games.

England finished the Six Nations with Henry Slade and Joe Marchant as their first-choice 12-13 combination, with Tuilagi absent for the tournament after picking up an injury in the autumn win over South Africa.

However, Slade also appears to be out of July’s tour after he announced on social media on Wednesday that he has had an operation on a long-standing shoulder injury.

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Northampton’s Fraser Dingwall and London Irish‘s Will Joseph were uncapped centre options included in last month’s training squad for the three-Test series against the Wallabies.