Tuilagi not thinking about Lions tour

Bruising England centre Manu Tuilagi says he is not focussing on the Lions tour as he works through his injury rehabilitation. 

Tuilagi injured his Achilles tendon in September 2020 and has been sidelined ever since, missing the Autumn Nations Cup and the 2021 Six Nations in the process. 

However, indications are that the Lions are still interested in taking the 29 year-old to South Africa and their attack coach, Gregor Townsend, recently met with him to guage his progress at this point. 

Asked by the BBC whether he was thinking about making the Lions tour, Tuilagi said: 

"I'm not at the moment because first and foremost I need to get out on the field. Whatever happens after that is a bonus. 

"I like to stay in the present moment. We've got some outstanding players here [at Sale] from South Africa so it's going to be tough and I hope the boys that are going will do the job. 

"Hopefully it'll be four to five weeks before I'm back playing," he said. 

The Lions squad announcement will take place on 6 May.