The hand injury which Gossip Girl star Blake Lively sustained in Ireland while making her new film The Rhythm Section has forced production on the spy thriller to be shut down.

Production had been temporarily suspended when Lively sustained the injury last December but has now been shut down as she continues her recovery with no resumption date penciled in.

Blake Lively and artist Ashley Longshore at the launch of Longshore's exhibition at New York department store Bergdorf Goodman earlier this month - notice the cast on Lively's hand

Sources told US entertainment trade publication The Hollywood Reporter that Lively needs further surgery on her injured right hand.

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The Hollywood Reporter says it has been told that "just under half" The Rhythm Section has been filmed with another source claiming it could be five months before production resumes. Lively was unrecognisable when filming on the streets of Dublin last year.

Based on the book of the same name by Mark Burnell and also starring Jude Law, The Rhythm Section tells the story of Stephanie Patrick (Lively), who falls into drink, drugs and prostitution when her family die in an air crash.

Jude Law also stars in The Rhythm Section

She is told by a journalist that the crash was caused by a bomb and is then recruited by intelligence services as she seeks to track down those responsible, assuming different identities in her quest.

The film is directed by The Handmaid's Tale director and executive producer Reed Morano and produced by James Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson. 

The film is directed by The Handmaid's Tale director and executive producer Reed Morano

The Rhythm Section is due in cinemas in February 2019 but it is not known if the film's release will now be pushed back.