Force wing Nick Cummins will miss the early part of the Vodacom Super Rugby season after having minor surgery on his ankle.

Cummins left Perth to play in Japan last year for personal reasons, but has been made available to play for the Force this season with an eye to forming part of the Wallabies World Cup squad.

He is, however, not expected to feature for the Force until at least the third week of the tournament as he recovers from surgery.

'Nick is having a bit of minor surgery on his ankle at the moment,' said Force coach Michael Foley. 'He should only miss the first couple of matches for us. He's got to go back to Japan and potentially play one more game there but we're thrilled to have him back from all sorts of perspectives.

'For a long time we weren't sure we were going to have him back. We've prepared with [South African] Marcel Brache and young Mitchell Scott from New Zealand who we've recruited to play in that position. So although Nick won't be here, we've prepared for the worst.

'It's a real bonus that he's coming back.'

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