Manu Tuilagi will not play again this season after it was confirmed he suffered an ACL injury against Saracens on Sunday.
The Leicester centre was immediately ruled out of England's training camp in Brighton on Monday and Tuesday and he will now miss the Six Nations as well as the British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand next summer.
Confirming the sad news at today's press conference, Aaron Mauger, who took over from Richard Cockerill as director of rugby earlier this week, revealed that Tuilagi could be out for up to nine months.
Tuilagi had only made his return last month from a two-month lay-off with a groin injury.
Mauger said: “Unfortunately Manu sustained an ACL injury in the game on Sunday that's going to put him out for the rest of the season.
“It's looking like a six-month recovery which is devastating for the bloke, he's worked so hard to get back to where he is.
“He's absolutely gutted, but we've got a good support team around him, we'll put a good plan in place and we'll see him back on the field early next season.
“Manu's started to show those signs in the last couple of weeks that's he's been in probably the best space that he's ever been in.
“We're really proud of the growth we've seen in him as a person. He was starting to get his explosive power and speed back and is really starting to understand the game better as well.
“He's starting to become a more complete footballer which is a great space for him to be in.”
