WORCESTER Warriors’ resources at centre have been further diminished with Ryan Mills and Will Butler set to undergo surgery.

Warriors went into the season with a strong batch of midfield options but will head into their final three Gallagher Premiership games with only three out-and-out centres.

Mills has been a regular fixture in the starting line-up this term and has recently captained the side in the absence of Gerrit-Jan van Velze.

However boss Alan Solomons said the 26-year-old had been struggling with a shoulder problem over “a number of games” and felt an operation was required to fix it.

Warriors then suffered another blow on Monday night when academy ace Butler “fractured his forearm” in Worcester Cavaliers’ defeat at Newcastle Falcons in the Premiership Shield.

The duo join Ollie Lawrence (ankle) and long-term absentee Ashley Beck (leg) on the sidelines, leaving Ben Te’o, Francois Venter and Wynand Olivier battling it out for the 12 and 13 shirts for the remainder of the season.

“Mills is going to have an op on that shoulder,” Solomons said.

“He has been very brave. He has played a number of games with the shoulder not being right.

“But in an innocuous incident just before we played Sale I thought this does not look good to me.

“He was running and the guy brushed past him holding a tackle bag and that was it.

“It has subluxated and once it does that you are at real risk.

“We hope (that he will have surgery) sometime during the course of next week.”

On Butler’s injury, Solomons said: “Will fractured his forearm just before the end of the Newcastle game on Monday and is out for the season as he will have to have that operated on.

“We are hoping that will be done on Friday.”

However Solomons is confident Warriors who are seven points above the drop zone will be able to cope without Mills and Butler as they bid to retain their top-flight status.

“As I have said before the strength in depth this season is much better than what it was in the previous season,” Solomons said.

“I think that will continue to improve and we are sitting in the midfield with Ben and Francois, both of whom are test match rugby players.

“We are able to cope.

“Of course we will miss Millsy but we have got two class centres with international experience.”