AP - England fears have been confirmed with centre Manu Tuilagi ruled out of the November Tests, including one against the embattled Wallabies, after hurting his groin in club rugby action last weekend.
Tuilagi would've been a guaranteed starter against the Wallabies at Twickenham on November 29, but instead he leaves a void in midfield.
The Wallabies are encountering troubles of their own ahead of their European tour and are currently without a coach following Ewen McKenzie's decision to stand down after Saturday's loss to the All Blacks.
Waratahs boss Michael Cheika is favoured to be announced as his replacement, with the Wallabies scheduled to fly out of Australia on Friday afternoon.
Tuilagi's spot will have to be filled by the likes of Luther Burrell, Brad Barritt, Jonathan Joseph or Kyle Eastmond when the England squad is named on Wednesday.
Tuilagi had a different groin abductor problem than the one which forced him to miss three club games last month, but it was more severe, Leicester director of rugby Richard Cockerill said on Tuesday.
The 23-year-old limped off after 15 minutes of the 25-18 win over Ulster in the European Champions Cup on Saturday, and Cockerill expected him to miss at least "four-plus weeks."
"At this point we just need to find out exactly what the problem is and find the right treatment," Cockerill added.
"Last month, his groin was very tight so we rested it, rehabbed it, and he was feeling good.
"He trained properly and there were no issues. But clearly, there was something there that there shouldn't have been, and he's done something else now."
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