Tuilagi career fears after latest knee blow

MANU TUILAGI could be forced to retire early from rugby because of his catalogue of injuries. Leicester confirmed Sportsmail’s story yesterday that their centre faces 12 weeks out and yet more surgery. The 26-year-old (below) suffered an injury to his left knee against Bath on Sunday and will miss England’s autumn internationals. He had just returned from an anterior cruciate ligament tear to his right knee. And now one of the UK’s leading knee experts says he fears for Tuilagi’s career. ‘Anyone who suffers repeated injuries and who has repeated operations is very likely to end up having to retire earlier than they would have done otherwise,’ said Ian McDermott, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon. ‘It’s so sad that Manu has injured himself yet again. With the number of injuries he’s had, he’s unfortunately storing up a whole heap of trouble for the future. If you’re fit, strong and determined, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to get back to sport. However, the real question is whether you should return, not whether you could.’ Leicester director of rugby Matt O’Connor played down concerns, saying: ‘This is not a major injury in the context of what kept him out for the first half of this year.’