Rugby union news: Manu Tuilagi ruled out of England v South Africa, Chris Ashton replaces him in squad

Manu Tuilagi has been ruled out of England's first autumn Test against South Africa with a minor groin strain.

Eddie Jones’ side get their autumn internationals underway against the Springboks at Twickenham on Saturday.

But they will be without Leicester Tigers star Tuilagi, who suffered the injury during a training session on Thursday.

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Chris Ashton, who was initially left out of the matchday 23 by boss Eddie Jones, has been confirmed as his replaced on the bench.

Tuilagi was poised to make his first Test appearance since 2016 as a second-half impact replacement, following a wretched run of serious groin, hamstring and knee injuries.

It appears to be only a minor setback at this stage, but alarm bells will still be ringing given his injury history.

Scrum head coach Neal Hatley said on Friday: "Manu's disappointed. He desperately wanted to play for England again.

"It's just a small strain and he'll back training with us on Sunday.

"He'd put a good run in with his club, but he's buoyed by the fact that he'll be back in to prepare for New Zealand next weekend."

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Ashton will win his 40th cap from the bench to end his four-year international exile after falling out of favour with successive England coaches, incurring a series of long-term bans and spending a season at Toulon.

The dual code wing joined Sale over the summer, however, to make him available for selection by Jones.

Hatley added: "It's brilliant for Chris Ashton who made the decision to come back from Toulon where life was very comfortable for him.

“To bring someone like him back in is brilliant.”

The starting XV remains unchanged with co-captain Owen Farrell directing operations at fly-half and Ben Te'o present at inside centre despite being limited to 28 minutes of rugby since May because of thigh and calf injuries.

"Ben's been brilliant. He's a big game player. He really steps up when the big Tests come around," Farrell said.

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"For me playing fly-half is similar to playing centre. Picking another fly-half at 12 doesn't mean he turns into a different player overnight. I was still myself."

England fell to a 2-1 series defeat to South Africa in June and face a strong Springboks line-up containing the likes of Duane Vermeulen, Malcolm Marx and Eben Etzebeth.

"We need to make sure we pitch up in the right state because it'll a hell of a battle up front. We've got to be ready for everything. We've got so much talent in this team," Farrell said.