The former All Blacks prop Greg Somerville has played just two games for his new English club Gloucester but will spend at least the next two months on the sidelines after undergoing eye surgery.
Sommerville, New Zealand's most capped Test prop, suffered a detached retina in Gloucester's recent loss to London Irish and has undergone surgery at Cheltenham hospital.
Somerville will miss at least seven Premiership games and Gloucester's two remaining Heineken Cup pool matches.
