What Manu Tuilagi's Injury Means for England's Hopes in the Six Nations

England's hopes for the 2015 RBS Six Nations Championship have been dealt a blow after Manu Tuilagi confirmed his recovery from a groin injury has been much slower than anticipated.

According to Oliver Brown of The Telegraph, Tuilagi isn't sure when he will return.

"With this you just have to take it day by day before you try to come back. ... When it first happened, even the doctor said it would be six to eight weeks," he said.

When asked about a late-February comeback, Tuilagi added:

"

That would be ideal, but I have to get this right. It’s not like a sprained ankle, where you can just strap it up and get on with it. I have to make sure that if I need another week or two off, then I take it. I have been speaking to all my team-mates about their injuries. They all say that I have to make sure it’s right first. It’s a learning experience.

"

The Leicester Tigers centre is a key player for England, and Stuart Lancaster's men will miss his presence in midfield.

Tuilagi suffered the injury in September before aggravating it in the Tigers' victory over Ulster Rugby in the European Champions Cup the following month.

The 23-year-old missed England's Autumn Internationals but was expected to recover in time for the Six Nations.

Lancaster is due to name his Six Nations squad on Wednesday. The 45-year-old named a 35-man squad last year, so Tuilagi may well feature in it or be called up should he return to fitness before the end of the tournament.

With England's opening game taking place on February 6, it looks as though the centre will miss at least the first two games and will not likely be fit for the other three.

This will dent England's chances of winning the tournament. Though their other centres are capable players, Tuilagi is the standout candidate.

The 6' powerhouse is one of England's strongest players, and despite weighing a titanic 17 stone, he is also one of the quickest. Tuilagi combines these attributes to devastating effect, scoring 11 tries in 23 starts for his country.

That's more than Billy Twelvetrees, Brad Barritt, Luther Burrell, Kyle Eastmond and Jonathan Joseph combined.

The below video shows the kinds of powerful runs and tackles Tuilagi makes, which England are now without:

The centre's presence was missed in the autumn fixtures. England lost to South Africa and New Zealand but salvaged some respectability with wins over Samoa and Australia.

Leicester Director of Rugby Richard Cockerill highlighted Tuilagi's importance to England shortly after the final international, according to Chris Hewitt of The Independent:

"

England play at their best when Manu plays at his best. When top-level rugby reaches stalemate, you need physicality. That's what he brings. It’s clear that midfield is the  biggest problem area for the Test team, and as Manu is our top No. 13, it's one position solved when he’s around.

"

Without Tuilagi's dynamism among the backs and his tenacity running forward, England look a different team. A less imposing team. A team without the fear factor that can be so effective at intimidating opposition defences.

In fairness to England, they won the Triple Crown and came second to Ireland only on match-points difference last year, and that was largely without Tuilagi.

However, had they scored two more tries, they would have won the Six Nations. Had Tuilagi played more than the 27 minutes he managed last year, England may well have got those tries.

As they proved in 2014, England are capable of challenging for the Six Nations even without the centre. Unfortunately, they fell short of their ambition, and because of his huge importance to the team, they look set to do so again.

A fourth consecutive second-place finish awaits Lancaster and his side.