Manu Tuilagi is shown a red on his return for Sale Sharks for leading with an elbow in BRUTAL tackle against Northampton Saints... with the centre set to miss England's Six Nations clash with Wales

Sale Sharks' Manu Tuilagi was shown a red for leading with an elbow against Northampton Saints on Saturday.

With the Sharks leading 5-0 in the 13th minute, the 31-year-old lunged into Tommy Freeman using his elbow in an attempt to complete a trial.

The match was halted for a few seconds and following a video review by referee Ian Tempest and TMO Claire Hodnett, Tuilagi was sent off.

The center was hopeful of forcing his way into Steve Borthwick's squad after being dropped against Scotland and Italy.

Sale director of rugby Alex Sanderson revealed that Tuilagi was simmering about his England situation ahead of the match.

'Manu is all smiles but underneath I sense a simmering in not selecting him. I would say he has a point to prove,' he said.