Gloucestershire have suffered a double injury blow to their pace bowling attack.

David Payne has undergone surgery for a hernia and is expected to be out for month, while Andrew Tye has confirmed that he will not be available for the NatWest T20 Blast after dislocating a shoulder playing in the Indian Premier League.

Left-arm seamer Payne began the Specsavers County Championship season well, opening the bowling with Liam Norwell.

It was Norwell who grabbed the majority of wickets, but his new ball partner took nine in the opening three games.

Payne played no part in the Royal London One-Day Cup group fixtures. The timing of the operation is likely to mean him missing just two Championship fixtures.

Gloucestershire do not return to action until next Friday when they visit Trent Bridge four-day match with Nottinghamshire. They then host the same opponents at Bristol, starting on Friday June 9.

Head coach Richard Dawson said: “We are not yet targeting a game for David’s return, but reckon he will be out for three or four weeks.

“It is a blow, but we have cover in the shape of Matt Taylor and Ollie Currill, who will be in contention to play at Trent Bridge.”

The news on Tye is no surprise, but equally upsetting for Dawson as the Australian seamer did well for Gloucestershire in last season’s NatWest T20 Blast.

Having returned home for an assessment of the damage to his left shoulder, sustained while fielding for Gujarat Lions in the IPL, the 30-year-old Western Australia player has been told the recovery period will be too long for him to play county cricket this summer.

Dawson said: “We will try to sign a replacement for AJ. I am trawling through lists of names at the moment, but it is very difficult to find an overseas player of sufficient quality who is available for the whole of the NatWest Blast.

“Commitments to other tournaments around the world are the problem. Ideally, we would like someone who could be part of our dressing room for the whole of the T20.”

Dawson will seek another pace bowler, but does not rule out signing a batsman or spinner if the right player became available.”

Tye took 18 wickets in last season's NatWest Blast and proved a popular signing with team-mates and supporters.