Wilkin will miss England's mid-season Test against France on 12 June

St Helens and England forward Jon Wilkin is facing a lay-off of up to 12 weeks after being told he needs to have surgery on his troublesome shoulder.

Wilkin, 26, has been playing through the pain barrier but the club have decided an operation is necessary.

"He's had it for a couple of weeks and he's been nursing it through," said Saints coach Mick Potter.

"It got to the point where he wouldn't be able to get through the season so he's going to have an op this week."

Wilkin's absence will rule him out of England's mid-season international against France on 12 June.

Wilkin, who normally plays in the second row, has been playing at stand-off in recent weeks, with Leon Pryce switched to full-back in place of the injured Paul Wellens.

But with Wellens returning to fitness in time for Saturday's match against Leeds Rhinos, Potter now needs to fill the slot in the pack.

"He'll be hard to replace but Matty Ashurst and Andrew Dixon have been going really well and we can play Paul Clough there so we've got players to fill the void," he added.

Potter also hopes to have centre Matt Gidley and winger Francis Meli back from injuries to face Leeds.

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