Leicester Tigers flanker Tom Croft will miss the next six weeks of action after having surgery on his knee.
The 28-year-old blindside flanker had an operation yesterday to remove a screw that had been inserted during the knee reconstruction which led to him missing nearly the whole of last season.
Croft had a strong pre-season and played in two friendlies as well as the defeat at Bath. But he has missed the last three games with the problem and went to hospital to finally have it corrected.
Tigers director of rugby Richard Cockerill said he was "disappointed" for him.
"Tom Croft will not be fit. He has had a screw taken out of his knee that was irritating the joint. He is probably six weeks away from playing now," said Cockerill.
"He has had some work done in there and when you get back to playing, sometimes the metalwork can irritate the joint. It's is one of those things.
"That was done yesterday and that is clearly disappointing for him and us."
Croft will miss the club's opening two games in the Champions Cup against Ulster and Llanelli. The operation also rules him out of what was a slim chance of returning to the England squad for the forthcoming autumn internationals.
Tigers now have England quartet Croft, Geoff Parling, Dan Cole and Tom Youngs all out of action with long-term injuries.
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