Scotland and Edinburgh flanker Hamish Watson has been ruled out for the rest of the season after deciding to undergo surgery on a shoulder injury, according to a report on BBC Sport.
The 26-year-old has been hampered by the injury to his shoulder for a lengthy period of time and after consultation with the medical staff at Edinburgh, Watson will undergo surgery.
Watson has featured 20 times for Scotland and played a major part in their Six Nations campaign this year.
Edinburgh boss Richard Cockerill said:
It’s something we probably could have managed through, but he’s been struggling with for a little while.
We’ve chosen to get it done now because he’ll then be fully fit for pre-season and he can have a summer off and recuperate. He’s a relatively small man in the modern game who plays big and it’s a World Cup year.
So, in consultation with Gregor Townsend, the right thing to do for the player is to get that done now, rather than play at 80% or 90%.
The surgery means that the flanker will be absent from the Scotland squad for their summer tour.
Gregor Townsend’s men will travel to Canada, USA and Argentina in June as they prepare for the 2019 World Cup.
Watson is set to have the surgery on Thursday and then he will begin his recovery process ahead of the new season.
