Saturday 9 January 2016 18:59, UK
Manu Tuilagi returned to action for the Leicester Tigers on Saturday after being a late addition to their bench for the clash with Northampton.
The England centre had not played since suffering a serious groin injury in October 2014, missing a whole season and the Rugby World Cup.
Tuilagi was added to the bench by Tigers coach Richard Cockerill as a replacement for Vereneki Goneva, a timely return for the 24-year-old with new national coach Eddie Jones in attendance at Welford Road.
Jones is due to make his first selection, since taking over from the axed Stuart Lancaster, on Wednesday when he unveils England's elite player squad.
And he managed to see 30 minutes from Tuilagi, who came on after 51 minutes for Matt Smith in a game the Tigers won 30-27 in thrilling fashion with a last-gasp Freddie Burns penalty.
But Cockerill is urging patience and feels it is too early to even think about him being part of England's Six Nations plans, something he will speak to Jones about before the squad is named.
"I am not sure how far off full fitness he is in 80-minute terms," Cockerill said. "He played 25 or so minutes today, and he is remembering how to play rugby again. Hopefully, there will be no reaction to that.
"He will play next week, and we will build his fitness up gradually. At this point, I am not sure he is ready to play Test match rugby. He has played 25 minutes in 15 months, and it is a bit premature to be discussing Manu playing for England.
"He needs to play for Leicester, we need to get him fit and make sure he is 100 per cent right before he starts playing Test matches.
"I will speak to Eddie in the next few days. Manu will keep improving, but the start of the Six Nations is unrealistic because we need to make sure he is 100 per cent right."
