England center Manu Tuilagi's nagging groin injury looks like seeing him sit out the rest of the season, his Leicester Tigers coach Richard Cockerill said Sunday.

The 23-year-old Samoan-born powerhouse back - who has won 25 caps and scored 11 tries for England - should have recovered sufficiently from the injury he suffered in October, according to Cockerill, to challenge for a place in the World Cup which England are hosting and gets underway in September.