Exeter Chiefs will be without star signing Len Ikitau until March, with the Wallabies centre set for surgery.
The back, who was recently named in the World Rugby Dream Team, suffered a shoulder injury during his side’s dramatic 30-24 win over Saracens last weekend, and will now go under the knife.
Ikitau has made an immediate impact in the South West, tallying five appearances in all competitions. He also scored his first try in the EPCR Challenge Cup win over the Cheetahs.
Len Ikitau set for surgery as return timeframe confirmed
Commenting on the news, Chiefs director of rugby, Rob Baxter, said: “We’re looking at him being back fully fit and ready to play the remainder of the season post the Prem Rugby Cup block which overlaps with the Guinness Six Nations.
“It’s very unfortunate for Len, who has been playing out of his skin for us and was in outstanding form. It’s a shame for him and a shame for us because he’s been an important part of what we’ve achieved so far this season.
Ex-teammate reveals incredible PREM ace stat from university
“However, after a pretty long period of quite intense rugby, it will give him a bit of a break and give his body plenty of time to recover and refresh. Hopefully, he can have a big end of the season impact for us, and we’ll remain in contention to be challenging for some success or silverware.”
Ikitau’s injury means he will also miss this weekend’s PREM clash against Leicester Tigers at Sandy Park, with Will Rigg being handed the starting 12 jersey in his absence.
That swap is the only change to the starting backline from the win at the StoneX, but Baxter has made two changes to his starting pack with newly capped Samoan international Scott Sio and Joseph Dweba coming into the group in place of Will Goodrick-Clarke and Jack Yeandle. The latter now move onto the bench.
Elsewhere, England A man Rusi Tuima takes the place of Lewis Pearson on the bench, while Dan John completes the changes, taking the 23 shirt vacated by Rigg.
Exeter Chiefs v Leicester Tigers teams
Exeter Chiefs: 15 Olly Woodburn, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Will Rigg, 11 Campbell Ridl, 10 Harvey Skinner, 9 Stephen Varney, 8 Greg Fisilau, 7 Ethan Roots, 6 Tom Hooper, 5 Andrea Zambonin, 4 Dafydd Jenkins (c), 3 Bachuki Tchumbadze, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Scott Sio
Replacements: 16 Jack Yeandle, 17 Will Goodrick-Clarke, 18 Jimmy Roots, 19 Rusi Tuima, 20 Kane James, 21 Charlie Chapman, 22 Will Haydon-Wood, 23 Dan John
Leicester Tigers: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Adam Radwan, 13 Izaia Perese, 12 Solomone Kata, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Billy Searle, 9 Tom Whiteley, 8 Olly Cracknell, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Joaquin Moro, 5 Ollie Chessum (c), 4 Cameron Henderson, 3 Joe Heyes, 2 Jamie Blamire, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements: 16 Finn Theobold-Thomas, 17 Tarek Haffar, 18 Will Hurd, 19 James Thompson, 20 Sam Williams, 21 Jack van Poortvliet, 22 Orlando Bailey, 23 Gabriel Hamer-Webb
Venue: Sandy Park
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe
Assistant referees: Joe James and Simon Harding
TMO: Dean Richards
How to watch: TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports UHD, Discovery+
Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for world-class coverage you can trust.
READ MORE: PREM Rugby round eight: Predictions, teams, kick-off times, how to watch and referee appointments