Exeter and England hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie could miss the whole of the Six Nations Championship with a serious ankle injury.

The 29-year-old Cornishman had to be helped off the pitch on Saturday after scoring two tries in the 35-12 Chiefs' Premiership victory over Northampton Saints at Sandy Park in front of watching new England head coach Steve Borthwick.

He was unable to travel with the Chiefs to South Africa this week for their Champions Cup match against the Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday, and Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter has revealed Cowan-Dickie is likely to need surgery.

"Luke's injury looks relatively serious," said Baxter. "He's seeing a surgeon today; that will maybe give us a more definitive outcome and timing."

Cowan-Dickie, who has been capped 41 times by England, is joining French Top 14 side Montpellier at the end of the season, but Baxter is optimistic he will be seen again in an Exeter shirt before the conclusion of the campaign.

"It does look like an operation is going to be required but that said, at this stage, it wouldn't be a season-ending situation," Baxter said. "We could still see him back for a good chunk of the season if rehab and everything goes well."