Monday 18 November 2019 18:22, UK
Wales prop Tomas Francis is set to miss the start of the 2020 Six Nations with a shoulder injury.
Francis suffered the injury in last month's Rugby World Cup semi-final defeat to South Africa in Yokohama.
Exeter Chiefs have confirmed the 27-year-old has will undergo surgery and could miss up to four months, making him a doubt for Wales' opening Six Nations match against Italy on February 1.
Exeter have also lost another prop, Greg Holmes, to injury until the start of next year, prompting the Premiership club to sign Argentina's Enrique Pieretto as cover until the end of the season.
"After two or three scans it became clear that Tom needs an operation to repair the shoulder injury he picked up with Wales at the World Cup," said Exeter Chiefs Director of Rugby, Rob Baxter.
"It's not great news for us, but at least we know where we stand now.
"We've therefore moved pretty quickly not just because we've lost Tom, but also Greg's Achilles has proved more problematic than we first thought.
"Again, he's going to be out for two or three months, so we felt it was the right thing to do to strengthen ourselves at tight-head."
