Tom Johnson is to miss England's Autumn Internationals after it was confirmed that he requires neck surgery.
The Exeter Chiefs flanker has not played since the summer tour to New Zealand, and is now expected to miss another three months of action.
Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter remains hopeful that the 32-year-old can bounce back from the setback, however, and has backed Johnson to add more caps to his name upon his return.
"It's one of those awkward ones where there's a balance between waiting to see if rehab sorts it out or operate and try to get some immediate results," the Exter Express & Echo quotes Baxter as saying.
"Having spoken to the surgeon and then the surgeon having some debates with our medical staff, because it's a relatively straightforward one about trimming a bit of bone to free up a nerve the consensus has been to get the operation done and give Tom the best chance to be good long-term, so do it now rather than wait and see.
"Part of the consideration has been that Tom has had two or three seasons where he's been on England tours so he's had less proper pre-season time than the other guys. Doing it now ticks a few boxes in that it gives him an extended pre-season period and deals with his neck at the same time."
Johnson started 20 games for the Chiefs last term, featuring in every position across the back row.
