British & Irish Lion Manu Tuilagi is counting down the days until he can pull on a Leicester Tigers shirt again and make his case for a spot in England’s World Cup squad.
The centre has not featured in the Premiership since October, with a persistent groin injury repeatedly keeping him out of action.
In his absence, Luther Burrell and Jonathan Joseph have started together in the centres for each of England’s last five outings.
And with attentions now turning to the World Cup in the autumn, Tuilagi – who featured in the Lions’ triumphant series-clinching 41-16 victory over Australia in 2013 – is eager to fight his way back into Stuart Lancaster’s team.
“I just want to get back and play a bit of rugby,” said Tuilagi, speaking at the Rosslyn Park HSBC National Schools Sevens
“For me it’s what I love doing and I’ve missed that for the last seven months. Just watching is very frustrating.
“I’ve got to come back but it’s not a case of going out there extra hard with a point to prove. I need to try and not be too eager to try and go mental and injury myself again. I’ve just got to try and play my game.
“It’s still a long time until the World Cup. I’m just going to be worrying about playing for Leicester now. And then after that, we start to worry about the World Cup.”
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