Exeter's England and British & Irish Lions winger Jack Nowell has suffered a further injury setback which could keep him out until the final few games of the domestic season.

But a new undisclosed injury means he could be out for a few more months.

"I think it's going to be a little while before we see Jack," said Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter.

"At this stage it's a bit early to give the full extent of the injury; it's just one of those things," Baxter told BBC Radio Devon.

"We kind of held Jack back for a week to give him a couple of weeks of full training, and unfortunately later on in the second week, he pulled up with another injury and now we're going to have to wait a little while longer until we get him back to full fitness."

'Stay energised and deal with rehab'

Nowell's injury could scupper his chances of a call-up for this summer's Lions tour - if it happens.

The Cornwall-born winger was a surprise call-up to the tour to New Zealand in 2017 but featured as a replacement in two of the three Tests against the All Blacks.

He has not played for England since his one solitary outing at the 2019 World Cup.

"He's got some concerns over the fact that this probably means he won't play international rugby this year," Baxter added.

"There's a Lions tour at the end of this year that he's desperate to be involved with so he's very aware of those things.

"We're trying make sure that he's aware that without doubt I know that the Lions management will 100% be looking beyond just international players, especially players who have played international rugby recently and haven't been involved because of things like this with injuries.

"The only thing I can encourage him to do is to stay energised and deal with his rehab well and come back and that there'll be enough rugby left for him with Exeter. Hopefully we will be involved in enough big games that there'll be plenty of opportunities to showcase his talent."