Thursday 7 September 2017 18:12, UK
Leicester Tigers centre Manu Tuilagi requires surgery and is facing 12 weeks out after injuring his knee against Bath.
The 26-year-old strained the meniscus in his left knee during Sunday's 27-23 loss at Welford Road, in which Tuilagi scored the game's first try.
It is the latest in a string of injury setbacks for Tuilagi who was unavailable for selection for last year's Six Nations and the British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand after injuring his ACL in January, though Tigers head coach Matt O'Connor has confirmed his latest injury is not to the same knee.
"This is not the knee that Manu injured last season and this is not a major injury in the context of what kept him out for the first half of this year," said O'Connor.
"Manu has worked really hard with the medical and conditioning teams to come back from long-term injury and was starting to find his feet again on the pitch, but he's just been very unlucky with this one.
"It was an innocuous bump, a freak incident in the game. On closer inspection there is some damage to the meniscus which needs to be addressed. We look forward to having him back at the end of his recovery period."
Tuilagi has managed just 17 games for Leicester over the past three seasons due to injuries to his groin, pectoral muscle, hamstring and knees.
His last start for England came in June of 2014 and he has managed just one appearance off the bench - against Wales in the 2016 Six Nations - since Eddie Jones took over as head coach.
His 12-week recovery timetable means he will be out until the end of November and is unlikely to feature in any of England autumn internationals.
England face Argentina on November 11, Australia on November 18 and Samoa on November 25.
Tuilagi was warned by Jones earlier this week he risks "spending a lot more time in the midlands" after he and Denny Solomona were sent home from England's August training camp over "team culture issues", which are understood to be alcohol-related.
September 2017: knee injury minor ligament damage and looks certain to miss Autumn internationals. (
January 2017: ACL damage rules him out of Six Nations and Lions Tour
September 2016: Groin injury recurrence means he misses autumn internationals
May 2016: Hamstring injury rules him out of Australia tour
September 2014: Groin injury puts him out for 15 months missing Autumn Internationals, Six Nations and the Rugby World Cup
September 2013: Pectoral injury rules him out of Autumn Internationals
