I [22/F] don't know how to tell the person [21/m] I'm seeing that I have to defer med school for another year

The guy [21/m] I just started seeing goes to school 2 hours away from me. I don't mind driving to see him because its an easy trip so that isn't a huge deal to me or him. However, when we started seeing each other about a month ago, I was supposed to be going to medical school starting in the fall. My med school is 5 minutes from his school so things would be easier even though they're really not that bad right now.

I found out I need to get surgery near the start of the semester and I would need to defer my schooling until next year. I'm afraid that when I tell him he won't be interested in me anymore. I care about him a lot already and I don't know how to tell him that I will have to defer for a year.

tl;dr: How do I tell the person I just started seeing and that I really care for that I have to defer school and moving closer to him for another year because of surgery I have to get?