England centre Manu Tuilagi is taking his rehabilitation 'week by week' as the powerhouse midfielder continues his recovery from a troublesome groin injury that has sidelined him for most of the season. Tuilagi has been out of action since October and missed the autumn internationals as well as England's entire RBS 6 Nations campaign - but the 23-year-old is targeting a return to action in the summer in time for his country's pre-World Cup preparations. 'The injuries coming along well,' Tuilagi told Kicca.com. Manu Tuilagi has not featured for England since the three-Test summer tour of New Zealand in 2014 . 'I'm doing this training at St Georges Park. Training in the altitude chamber trying to speed up my fitness. I'm taking it week by week - I haven't got a set date for a goal that I need to be fit and a time that I need to be fit in time for.' Tuilagi's last appearance in an England shirt was during the three-Test summer tour of New Zealand in 2014. The Tigers three-quarter impressed throughout the series and looked set to have a stellar season in 2015 before he picked up the injury playing against Ulster in October. Leicester Tigers centre Tuilagi has been out of action since his picked up a groin injury in October . Tuilagi has struggled with the injury all season with Richard Cockerill, Tigers' director of rugby, recently confirming that the England star was highly unlikely to play any rugby this campaign. 'I thought I was out for eight weeks originally,' Tuilagi explained. 'And then I had a scan again later on and they said "It's very bad" - I split my pubus and... it's been tough since then. It's been very frustrating watching your team-mates (from the sideline). You can't do anything about it - all you have to do is your rehab and recovery.' Tuilagi's absence has allowed other players to stake their claim in England's midfield with Bath's Jonathan Joseph filing the number 13 with aplomb during the championship. 'JJ had a brilliant Six Nations and is a fantastic player. There's a lot of competition in the team but it's always been that way. Your spot in the team is never set; if you don't perform well, you'll lose your spot and that's just the way it is.' Bath centre Jonathan Joseph flourished at outside centre for England in the RBS 6 Nations . England will begin their preparations for the World Cup with a two-week training camp at Pennyhill Park in early July. The squad will then embark on a trip to Colorado in Texas for a fortnight of high-intensity training at high-altitude before returning for three warm-up games against France (twice) and Ireland prior to the tournament - and Tuilagi is hoping to be back in the mix for selection by then. 'When you get injured, that's when you realise how much you love the game,' Tuilagi added. 'Sometimes you forget that when you're playing a lot. I just can't wait to get back.'
Manu Tuilagi has been out of action since October . The Leicester Tigers centre has struggled with a groin injury all season . Tuilagi is hoping to be back in time for England's pre-World Cup plans .