Chessum in doubt for England's tour of Japan and New Zealand

Leicester forward Ollie Chessum is set to miss England's tour of Japan and New Zealand after being ruled out for the rest of the domestic rugby season with an injury.

Leicester said on Thursday that Chessum, who plays at lock or in the back row, will miss the final two rounds of the English Premiership after undergoing surgery for an unspecified issue.

His last appearance was in Leicester's 21-19 loss at home to Bristol last month. He finished the game but it was decided he needed an operation afterwards.

The Tigers expect Chessum to be ready for the start of the new season in September but will conclude their bid to qualify for next term's European Champions Cup without the impressive 23-year-old.

Chessum started every match of this season's Six Nations and has become a mainstay of the England pack while winning 23 caps, mostly in the second row.

But he now looks doubtful for the three-Test tour. England face Japan in Tokyo on June 22 before taking on the All Blacks, runners-up at last year's World Cup, in two Tests -- at Dunedin on July 6 and Auckland's Eden Park a week later.

jdg/jw/bsp