Ellis Genge is set to miss the start of England’s Six Nations campaign after Leicester confirmed the loosehead prop requires shoulder surgery and will be out of action for two months.

Genge was injured during Leicester’s defeat by Wasps last Saturday and scans revealed the need for an operation. It is a considerable setback for Genge, who made his third start for England against Samoa the week before, and for Eddie Jones, who has targeted a record-breaking third consecutive Six Nations title.

England begin their campaign in Italy on 4 February and after Leicester revealed the extent of Genge’s injury that game will come too soon for the 22 year old. At loosehead Jones has Mako Vunipola and Joe Marler at his disposal but his injury problems may be compounded on Thursday with Maro Itoje set to learn the length of his layoff, having undergone surgery on a broken jaw.

Considering Genge’s club form, his injury is also a considerable blow for Leicester, who begin back-to-back Champions Cup matches against Munster in Limerick on Saturday. “Ellis is going to need some minor surgery which will mean a couple of months out of the game,” said the Leicester coach, Matt O’Connor. “It’s obviously very disappointing for him and for us because he has been outstanding so far this season.”

Genge joins Manu Tuilagi, Nathan Hughes, Ben Te’o, Itoje and Billy Vunipola among the England players out of action but Jones has at least been boosted by the news Vunipola could make his comeback from a knee injury for Saracens on 7 January.

“He is probably a bit ahead of schedule, as Billy tends to be,” said the Saracens director of rugby, Mark McCall. “He had his first running session today and once he starts to run he’s normally pretty quick after that.”

While McCall conceded Itoje may be out of action for 10 weeks, he is hoping it may be as little as between three and four, as was the case with George Kruis last season. “A lot of it will be about the pain the player is in and whether he can tolerate the pain. Once it’s fixed it’s fixed but you’ve got to be able to go into the scrum.”

Saracens will definitely be without Itoje for their games against Clermont – the side they beat in the Champions Cup final last year – but McCall was quick to dispel any talk of crisis following a run of five straight defeats in all competitions, their worst run for a decade.

“We’re balanced, we don’t get too carried away when we win a lot of games in a row and people praises us from the rooftops and we can’t get too down after a couple of close defeats,” he said. “The group has been together for a very long time and seasons don’t run in an upward trajectory all the time.”