Exeter have suffered a blow after second-row Ollie Atkins was ruled out for up to three months after injuring his knee last weekend.
Atkins, 29, sustained the injury against Saracens in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.
"He's got a pretty significant knee injury," Chiefs boss Rob Baxter told BBC Sport.
"It's not going to require surgery, at least that's what the initial scans show, but it is going to be one of those 8-12 week MCL ligament injuries."
Baxter however put a positive spin on the injury, which comes after Atkins was hurt in November, adding: "This is his opportunity to get in a pre-season really.
"In any other sport you'd say two months out is your opportunity to majorly work on other areas of your physical development and of your game and that's what Ollie's got to make sure he does now.
"This is two months added to the end of his career, not two months taken away form his career."
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