Sam Burgess's new coach in England has described the star's injury as a blessing in disguise because it means there's no pressure to play the 25-year-old before he's adapted to rugby union.
Bath boss Mike Ford says the fact Burgess suffered a fractured cheekbone and eye socket during South Sydney's NRL grand final win means there's no risk his transition will be rushed.
"We've now got the comfort of (saying) we can't play him anyway so there's no pressure on me to play him because he's injured," Ford told BBC television.
"He always thought he could play as soon as he got over (here) but that was never going to be the case.
"He's got a good chance to have a good rest now and come back fresh."
Burgess suffered his injuries during a sickening head clash with Bulldogs prop James Graham in the first tackle of his side's 30-6 win over Canterbury on Sunday.
Rabbitohs co-owner Russell Crowe tweeted about the Clive Churchill Medal winner's condition post-surgery on Wednesday.
"Sam Burgess update. Complicated surgery. 4 plates. Insisted the nurses called him Clive. Hahaha the sparkly eyed man. What a champion."
Burgess was due to arrive at Bath on October 15 to kick-start his crash course in rugby union but Ford has told him not to rush his recovery.
"There's no (new arrival) date yet but that's not a problem at all," the coach said.
"He'll be very emotionally drained after that final as well.
"So we're letting him stay there after his operation, he can enjoy a bit more time with his family, enjoy the celebrations."
Ford told the BBC when Burgess did arrive in England after his time in the "brutal" NRL he'd acclimatise to union without any contact work.
"When he's back training after his weeks off he can learn how to present the football with no contact, he can learn a lot of things.
"We've got time to do that now.
"(Then) when he puts a blue, black and white shirt on you can be assured he'll be ready to play and he'll know the laws and he'll know what to do.
"From that point of view it's a blessing."
Many in England were hoping Burgess could break into Stuart Lancaster's Rugby World Cup 2015 squad. That's less likely now.
Ford acknowledges switching codes will take time.
"I think it's disrespectful to the players already excelling at Bath to even think he's going to walk into our first team," he said on Wednesday.
"He's got to learn the game, and he's got to get credit in the bank before he does that (and) before we even start talking about England."
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