Chessum has been ruled out for the rest of the season

Lock Ollie Chessum is set to miss England’s tour of New Zealand this summer because of injury.

His club Leicester Tigers announced he has been ruled out for the rest of the season after having surgery on an “ongoing injury”.

Related: Curry could return this season

England will travel to New Zealand in July where they will play the All Blacks three times. They head to New Zealand after first taking on Japan in Tokyo.

And while England have lost Chessum, they may have Tom Curry back in the ranks. He took part in his first high intensity training session for club Sale this week and so could be back in contention for the summer. He was initially ruled out for the season after hip surgery.

Chessum’s exclusion is a blow for Steve Borthwick’s side but also for the Premiership club.

Leicester are currently eighth in the table and need to produce two bonus-point wins in their final two matches in order to have a chance of a top four space. The side face Sale Sharks and Exeter Chiefs in their final two regular season matches.

Last time out they lost to Bristol Bears 21-19. Head coach Dan McKellar has said they have reviewed the match and fronted up to some home truths.

“We’ve had some honest conversations as a group since Bristol and we’re working hard to address the areas we need to improve but we’ve still got a lot to play for over these next two weeks,” McKellar said.

“We can’t change Bristol, or this season, but we can put in two eighty-minute performances in these next two games that we can be proud of.”

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