Steve Borthwick will be without a key England player for the Six Nations. (Image: Getty.)
wing sensation Immanuel Feyi-Waboso will reportedly undergo surgery on his dislocated shoulder, ruling him out of the entire campaign.
The 22-year-old has become a starter in a meteoric rise over the past 12 months under , but the under-fire boss will now be without two members of his first-choice back three.
The Exeter star dislocated his shoulder in the defeat by Sale last month and had been weighing up whether or not to go under the knife, knowing that it would scupper his plans to compete in the Six Nations.
Typical recovery time is between 10 and 12 weeks, ensuring he will miss England’s opener in Ireland on February 1 all the way until the final day of the competition when his side take on Wales in Cardiff on March 15.
Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter had initially been hopeful that Feyi-Waboso would not be sidelined for a lengthy period, but the claim that after consultation with England, a decision was reached to opt for surgery.
Feyi-Waboso was one of the 17 players who were handed an enhanced contract in October, which means that Borthwick has the final say over sports science and injury concerns.
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso will miss the entire Six Nations campaign. (Image: Getty)
Feyi-Waboso, a nominee for World Rugby’s Breakthrough Player of the Year award, made his debut for England at last year’s Six Nations .
There was an initial feeling that the winger may be able to recover without surgery, suiting both the player and England, but that has since been dismissed and Feyi-Waboso will be ruled out until April at least.
A second blow for Feyi-Waboso is that he will no longer be able to impress boss in the hopes of winning a place in the squad.
Farrell would have hoped to have seen the youngster take up a starring role in this year’s Six Nations before considering him in Australia this summer.
Feyi-Waboso now joins Northampton full-back George Furbank on the sidelines after he broke his arm in a Champions Cup victory over the Bulls, which is set to rule him out of at least the start of the campaign.
Ollie Sleightholme was a late withdrawal from Northampton’s squad ahead of their win over Bath on Sunday, with he and Tommy Freeman likely candidates to replace Feyi-Waboso and Furbank.
Gabriel Ibitoye, one of the star wings of the Premiership season for Bristol and an England hopeful, has also been ruled out for six weeks with a leg injury. Will Muir also limped out of Bath’s 35-34 defeat to Northampton on Sunday after suffering a hamstring issue.