England head coach Eddie Jones has resisted the temptation to fast-track centre Manu Tuilagi straight into the Six Nations as he announces his squad on Thursday for the opening match against Italy.

The list of absentees for the game in Rome on February 4 grew on Wednesday as Wasps flanker James Haskell was banned or four weeks for a dangerous tackle on Jamie Roberts. Jones had already lost wing Elliot Daly, No 8s Billy Vunipola and Nathan Hughes, and props Ellis Genge and Matt Mullan to injury, while Harlequins prop Joe Marler will miss the fixtures against Italy and Wales through suspension.

There is also a doubt over full-back Mike Brown who left the field with blurred vision during Harlequins’ Champions Cup victory against Wasps, but wing Jack Nowell is expected to recover from an ankle injury. There remains no space in Jones’ plan for Nowell’s Exeter teammate Don Armand, the in-form back row in the Premiership.

Saracens, meanwhile, have confirmed that Billy Vunipola will be out for between "six and 10 weeks" but will not require surgery for the broken arm he suffered during the 15-15 draw against Ospreys.

If many of those absences are enforced, Jones has voluntarily allowed Tuilagi to build up his fitness and form at Leicester Tigers. Long an object of fascination for Jones off the back of his barnstorming performance against New Zealand in 2012, the 26 year-old is just four games into the eighth comeback of a truncated career. His last start for England came in 2014.