Ben Youngs has definitely taken a risk undergoing knee surgery only a couple of months before the Rugby World Cup, as even if he does return fit he will have missed a huge chunk of England's preparations.
The Leicester scrum half has had keyhole surgery to get cartilage trimmed from his left knee, but he is hoping this planned trip under the knife will not put his World Cup participation in doubt. Those following the Rugby World Cup betting will be keeping a close eye on his recovery.
Youngs has become a first choice player for Martin Johnson over the last year and he is expected to miss at least one of England's pre-World Cup games, most likely the first of a double header against Wales.
The operation will put him out of action for six weeks, meaning England will have had a training camp without him there and could also have played both their games against Wales with Youngs absent.
If he does miss all the training sessions and warm-up matches it would be seen as a gamble if Johnson throws him straight into the starting side when England get their World Cup campaign underway. Those placing rugby bets wouldn't expect Johnson to make such a move.
The RFU are confident he will be back as scheduled, meaning he could only have the final World Cup warm-up game against Ireland on August 27th to prove his fitness.
"Ben will continue his rehabilitation with the England medics in consultation with their Leicester counterparts. A full recovery is expected as quickly and as safely as possible under the guidance of the surgeon," an RFU statement read.
Johnson picked Youngs, Danny Care, Richard Wigglesworth and Joe Simpson as four scrum-halves in his 45-man World Cup training squad, meaning the other trio have a chance to impress before the England boss names his final 30-man World Cup squad on August 22nd.
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