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Leicester and England flanker Tom Croft faces another six weeks on the sidelines and will not be available for the start of the autumn internationals.

Croft missed most of last season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

And after the 28-year-old will be out until late November after knee surgery.

"Tom had a small operation to take a screw out of his knee that was holding some bits together," said Leicester director of rugby Richard Cockerill.

"The screw is irritating the joint and it won't settle, so he had that taken out and he will probably be six weeks away from playing now."

In 2012, Croft - who has been capped 36 times by England - was out for eight months with a serious neck injury.