Bristol Bears will be without star full back Charles Piutau until January the club have confirmed today.
The former All Black is set to miss the first two months of the season as he rehabilitate with the club’s medical staff from a longstanding achilles injury.
Piutau will be joined on the treatment table by former England number eight Nathan Hughes and Semi Radradra, meaning three of the Bears' biggest attacking threats are a doubt for the start of next season, which begins in just over four weeks time away at Wasps on November 22.
Hughes missed the Challenge Cup final victory over Toulon last Friday after picking up a rib injury in the Gallagher Premiership semi-final defeat to Wasps.
However it is surgery on a longstanding knee issue which will see him sidelined with his return date unknown at this time.
Meanwhile superstar centre Semi Radradra looks set to miss most if not all of Fiji's Autumn Nations Cup campaign with the Bears confirming the hamstring injury he suffered in the European final will rule him out until the end of November.
Andy Uren's foot injury, which sustained in training, will also keep sees him touch and go for the start of the new league campaign.
In another cruel blow, one of the Bears' hottest academy prospects, centre Harry Ascherl, has sustained a knee injury during training and will undergo surgery. The former Clifton College man will be ruled out until June 2021.
The good news is hooker Will Capon (ankle) and winger Henry Purdy (hamstring) are both expected to be fit and available for selection ahead of the new Gallagher Premiership season.
Bristol are also currently without five key players due to international call-ups, with fly-half Callum Sheedy and full back Ioan Lloyd with Wales and Ben Earl, Max Malins and Kyle Sinckler with England.
If all five men remain in the international camps throughout the autumn they will not be available for Bristol until December.
The strength of Pat Lam's squad is certainly going to get tested in 2020/21.
