England hopeful Sam Underhill will miss the opening months of the 2016-17 season after it was revealed he will undergo shoulder surgery later this week.

The 20-year-old openside picked up the injury in training and will go under the knife to repair the damage.

Chris Towers, medical performance manager at the Ospreys, said: 'Sam suffered a high grade AC joint injury in training last week, since when he has had scans and we've consulted with a specialist at Spire Cardiff.

England hopeful Sam Underhill will miss the opening months of the 2016-17 season

Underhill suffered a shoulder injury in training and is now set for a spell on the sidelines

'The agreed course of action for Sam is for him to undergo surgery to reconstruct the damaged ligaments. That will take place at the end of the week before he commences a programme of rehabilitation.

'The initial prognosis is that he can expect to be sidelined for a period of around four months.'

With James Haskell, who was outstanding on England's successful summer tour of Australia, out of action for four to six months, Underhill had been tipped as a possible back-row replacement.

The young flanker, who is currently studying at Cardiff University alongside playing for the Ospreys, sprung to prominence last season with his performances for the Welsh region.

England coach Eddie Jones had previously said the back-rower could feature in the autumn internationals.

England coach Eddie Jones had said Underhill might be considered for the autumn Tests

With James Haskell out injured, Underhill had been considered as a possible replacement

But Underhill, who has previously pledged his allegiance to England despite having the option of qualifying for Wales through residency, is now likely to miss the November Tests with South Africa, Fiji, Argentina and Australia.

Underhill's huge talent makes him a man highly likely to play international rugby in the future but his current situation in Wales makes featuring for England difficult.

Jones was told last month that the uncapped Underhill would not have been available for the autumn internationals - if he was fit - due to the new £225million deal between the RFU and Premiership Rugby.