Rugby-England coach Jones hopeful of Tuilagi's return for Wales clash

(Reuters) - England could be bolstered by the return of several players from injury, including centre Manu Tuilagi, for their upcoming Six Nations game at home to Wales, head coach Eddie Jones said.

Veteran centre Tuilagi continued his comeback at the weekend for Premiership club Sale Sharks following a hamstring injury lay-off that forced him to miss England's 20-17 defeat away to Scotland and 33-0 victory away to Italy.

Jones is also optimistic of welcoming back forward Courtney Lawes after his recovery from a concussion, while Lewis Ludlam is expected to return from a rib injury and Joe Launchbury is set for contention after a lengthy lay-off with a knee injury.

"Potentially we'll have Launchbury, Tuilagi, Lawes and Ludlam, so there are a few that could come back into the squad," Jones told British media on Monday.

Tuilagi's return would be a significant boost for England, with the 30-year-old adding firepower to the midfield with his physical presence.

England, who are second in the Six Nations standings on six points after two matches, three points behind leaders France, are due to host Wales on Feb. 26.

"If Manu is fit ... I'll have a chat with (Sale Sharks director of rugby) Alex Sanderson and Manu to see where they're at and whether he's got enough petrol in the tank to make the step up," Jones added.

"Just having a power-running centre would give us a different option.

"Everything we're doing now is about trying to create opportunities through finesse ... But to have someone who can take you forward quickly and engage two or three defenders then allows you try and finesse in extra space, which would be really useful to us."

(Reporting by Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)