England centre Henry Slade will miss the start of the Premiership season after undergoing shoulder surgery.
The Exeter player picked up the injury during the Six Nations but was able to carry on playing for the rest of last season and go on tour to New Zealand with England.
He is expected to be out for three to four months, meaning he faces a race to be fit in time for England’s autumn internationals against New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Japan.
“We were aware that there was a slight issue, as were England, and it has slightly worsened throughout the summer tour,” Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter told the club website.
“After having the shoulder re-scanned and checking in with how Henry feels about his shoulder, we’ve made the decision that now is the right time to have the operation.
“It’s a relatively complex operation which, at this stage, makes it a little difficult to talk about his return to play time. It is likely to be in the three-to-four-month range so unfortunately, he is going to miss a good chunk of the start of the season with us.”