Manu Tuilagi ruled out of England v Wales with fresh hamstring injury

Manu Tuilagi has been dramatically ruled out of England’s Six Nations match against Wales on Saturday after a scan revealed he has suffered a fresh hamstring injury.

Tuilagi, the Sale Sharks centre, had been in line to make his first Six Nations start in two years after being named at inside centre.

He had only just played himself back into contention during the first two rounds of the Six Nations with his club having sustained a hamstring injury when scoring a try in the 27-26 victory against South Africa last November.

It represents a major blow to England’s hopes given that Eddie Jones, England’s head coach, had hoped Tuilagi's return to the side would pose a formidable physical presence both in attack and defence.

England issued a statement on Thursday evening stating that Tuilagi had suffered a "low-grade hamstring injury" following a scan after he had been named in the starting XV.

Joe Marchant, who started at outside centre for England in the victory over Italy, has been recalled and will train with the squad on Friday and is likely to be handed a swift return to the side.

Jones had earlier handed a recall to Tuilagi who was in line to make a first start alongside Marcus Smith and Henry Slade since the trio made an immediate impact in the victory over South Africa in November. They combined for a Tuilagi try in the eighth minute before he had to withdraw from the contest with an injury sustained in the act of scoring.

"Manu is a gain-line accumulator isn't he," said Jones earlier on Thursday. "He wins the gain line consistently, draws defenders in which creates space for other options. He does that better than anyone else in the world when he's at full tilt. We're planning for him to be at full tilt on Saturday,