Ospreys hooker Richard Hibbard is a doubt for Wales’s tour of South Africa later this year after his club announced on Friday that he was to undergo shoulder surgery.
The 30-year-old British and Irish Lions forward is expected to miss the rest of the campaign as a result, jeopardising his chances of playing in the two Tests in South Africa on June 14 and June 21.
“Richard has an ongoing shoulder problem that has been troubling him, and after returning to the region this week, he feels unable to continue playing,” said Ospreys medical performance manager Chris Towers.
“It is in his best interests to get this issue resolved, and he will undergo surgery today (Friday).
“The expected minimum recovery time for such a procedure means it is unlikely he will play again between now and the end of the season.”
Hibbard, who will join English Premiership side Gloucester next season, is the third Welsh member of the Lions squad to have succumbed to a shoulder problem in recent weeks.
Wales captain Sam Warburton and full-back Leigh Halfpenny both dislocated their shoulders during the Six Nations and were both subsequently ruled out of the tour of South Africa.