The Queensland Reds have been a dealt a significant blow ahead of the 2016 Super Rugby season with Test forwards James Slipper and Kane Douglas booked in for off-season surgery.
Reds' skipper Slipper, who became the Wallabies' most capped prop of all time throughout the Rugby World Cup, had nursed a shoulder injury throughout the 2015 season.
The shoulder surgery is expected to see the loosehead prop miss a significant proportion of next year's expanded Super Rugby season, with the Reds scheduled to start their season against the NSW Waratahs on February 27.
In a further blow for the Reds and club coach Richard Graham, their new second-row recruit Douglas will also go under the knife.
Wallabies lock Douglas faces surgery on his injured left knee this week, with MRI scans confirming a ruptured ACL, suffered during Australia's Rugby World Cup final loss to New Zealand.
The 26-year-old hurt his knee when he fell awkwardly just 15 minutes into the decider on Sunday morning (AEDT) and took no further part in the match at Twickenham.
Read more at FoxSports.com.au
