Leicester Tigers head coach Matt O’Connor has revealed that England’s Ben Youngs and Manu Tuilagi are expected back in action before the end of the Aviva Premiership season.
Scrum-half Youngs has been one of England’s key men in recent years but damaged knee ligaments in the opening 2018 NatWest 6 Nations match against Italy, which England went on to win 46-15.
It was feared that Youngs may miss the rest of the season and although he’s not expected to play a part in Leicester’s Twickenham fixture against Bath on Saturday, he may be available for next weekend’s match against Northampton Saints.
“He (Youngs) has worked incredibly hard to get back,” said O’Connor. “So that he can contribute at the back end of the season.
“All the indicators are that he should be in and around selection next week.
“We will have a look at what we have around the nines, we have some good guys there but if we need Ben (Youngs) against Saints we will certainly have a look at it and he should be available then.”
Youngs’ prospective return also means he may be available for the England tour of South Africa in June, which Tuilagi could also be considered for.
The England centre suffered a pectoral injury in Leicester’s win over Wasps on March 25, but O’Connor commented that Tuilagi’s injury is also not as severe as first feared.
“It was diagnosed as more muscle than tendon which is really positive,” O’Connor added. “The medical team are quite positive that it will only be a couple of weeks as opposed to months or surgery.
“Manu is running around. He isn’t training with the team yet but he is certainly running and should come back, no dramas, at the back end of the season.
“We have a week off after the Northampton Saints game (on April 14) so we will just have to wait and see how he comes along.
“Thankfully it is fairly minor and we will just have to see how he copes with the rehab.”
