Wasps have suffered a major injury blow ahead of the new Premiership season after flank Tom Rees was ruled out for the majority of the campaign with a serious knee injury.

The 26-year-old Rees ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in a recent pre-season friendly against Agen and will be sidelined for between six and nine months after undergoing surgery.

The injury is the latest in a long line of problems that have ravaged the England international's career to date and robs new Wasps boss Dai Young of one of his key players.

"The injury is a huge blow for Tom and everyone at Wasps. We all saw how incredibly hard Tom worked to get back to full fitness from last season's injury so this is desperately disappointing," Young said.

"As director of rugby, Tom was someone I had earmarked to have a major impact this season both on and off the pitch and he will be sorely missed. We all wish him the best in his recovery," he added.

Rees was named club captain for the 2009-10 season but played only seven games after being forced to undergo surgery on a shoulder problem.

He also missed the second half of last term to have another shoulder reconstruction and will now not feature until well into the New Year.