Wasps have given reassurance that Kurtley Beale's Super Rugby season-ending knee injury won't affect his mega-deal with the big-spending English rugby club.
The livewire Wallabies star could miss a chunk of his first campaign in the English premiership after being ruled out for four to six months following surgery to re-attach his patella tendon.
He suffered the injury playing for the NSW Waratahs against the Bulls last Saturday, shortly after completing a deal reportedly worth in excess of STG700,000 ($A1.38 million) per season that will make him the highest-paid player in England.
Wasps rugby director Dai Young has vowed they will stand by their man.
"The first thing to say is our thoughts go out to Kurtley. You never want to see a player being injured," Young said of Beale, who has the option to extend his Wasps deal into a second year in due course.
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"So that was our first concern, making sure he's OK.
"He's not our player yet so we have got limited information of where he is.
"But the information that we have got, it is pretty much that it's four to six months.
"It's obviously not ideal but it's not catastrophic for us, which means hopefully he'll be playing for us in September.
"If he's not right in September and it's a little bit longer, then it's a little bit longer, because we certainly won't rush him."
Young was relieved to learn the injury wasn't as bad as first reported and said these types of setbacks were part and parcel of professional sport.
"Players do get injured and we're always going to support them and work with them to get back sooner rather than later," he said.
