England address Manu Tuilagi’s fitness concerns after just two matches since the World Cup

England insist that Manu Tuilagi will be fit and ready for their Calcutta Cup clash against Scotland next weekend.

The Red Rose take on Gregor Townsend’s men at Murrayfield on February 24 following successive victories over Italy and Wales.

Tuilagi will be in contention for that encounter after recovering from a groin injury sustained while playing for club side Sale Sharks.

Three return for England

The powerhouse centre has returned to the England squad ahead of their next Six Nations match alongside fellow injury-returnees Luke Cowan-Dickie and George Martin.

Ollie Lawrence is not fit enough to make the 36-man group, but he has joined up with Steve Borthwick’s side to continue his rehab, alongside fly-half Marcus Smith.

With Lawrence still on the sidelines, that has increased the likelihood of Tuilagi starting against Scotland, but he has only played two games since the Rugby World Cup.

In total, he has been on the field for just 122 minutes, with his last action coming against Saracens in December 2022, but defence coach Felix Jones is not concerned.

“Manu had little bit of a run around out there today (Wednesday). It wasn’t anything too intense, but he looked good,” Jones said.

“He’s done it a number of times where he’s come back from injury with low levels of game time but still been able to perform at a very high level. Experience accounts for a lot in those situations.”

Potential changes

Should Tuilagi come straight back into the XV, it will probably be at the expense of Fraser Dingwall, who made his international debut against Italy.

Dingwall followed that up by playing another 80 minutes, this time in the 16-14 triumph over Wales, where he scored his first Test try.

Elsewhere in the backline, Borthwick may want to keep changes to a minimum, and that might also be the case upfront, although Martin’s return could force a slight reshuffle in the pack.

Capable of playing either lock or blindside flanker, the youngster starred in the World Cup semi-final and brings real physicality to the forward eight.

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