England's injury woes have taken a further turn for the worse after Anthony Watson and Jonathan Joseph were ruled out of the November internationals with long-term injuries.
Watson, who ruptured his left Achilles during England's Six Nations defeat by Ireland in March, faces a longer spell on the sideline than his England and Bath teammate, with fears the winger could be unavailable until the latter stages of the season.
Bath director of rugby Todd Blackadder said Watson underwent a second surgery for his injury and is now a doubt for the 2019 Six Nations.
"The initial surgery didn't take basically, (he needed) another tear to have surgery again. He's had to start afresh and it was done about a month ago," Blackadder said.
Joseph, on the other hand, is currently to expected to return "around Christmas time" after undergoing surgery on an ankle injury in April.
"JJ (Joseph) is still on track," Blackadder said. "He'll be somewhere around Christmas time... It's hard to put a timeline on these things."
Like Watson, Joseph is set to miss England's autumn campaign against South Africa, New Zealand, Japan and Australia.
A slew of injuries to players sustained during England training camps prompted a war of words between the national team's head coach Eddie Jones and Bath owner Bruce Craig in May.
Blackadder said he hoped to work closer with the England set-up to ensure players' health.
"There will be lessons learned on both sides on how we get the best out of all our players," he said.
"Hopefully common sense will prevail and we send players (to England) in the best possible nick they can be and we just hope that is reciprocated."
