Leicester Tigers prop Logovi'i Mulipola will miss the the next six to eight weeks, having undergone surgery on an Achilles injury.
The Samoan had been forced to sit out his side's last couple of games, and the decision was made to send Mulipola for surgery which only adds to the Tigers' growing list of absentees.
"Logo had surgery on his Achilles injury and he will probably be out for six to eight weeks," Richard Cockerill told the Leicester Mercury. "There is something called the plantaris which is stuck to the Achilles and goes up behind the calf.
"On either heavy or powerful athletes, it can separate from the Achilles tendon and it irritates it. There is no need for it to be there and they just take it out. In Logo's case, they have to take it out because he is really big and powerful - and it was sore for him.
"He has had trouble with it last year and it settled down well. It reappeared this year and we cannot settle it down, so he has had to have surgery."
Leicester, who are currently eighth in the Aviva Premiership table, are also without Dan Cole and Tom Youngs in their front row.
