The 24 year-old suffered an impact to his right shoulder whilst on international duty in South Africa this summer, and although he returned to pre-season training as normal, he began to experience some pain in the shoulder and the decision was made to deal with the problem immediately to ensure that the player could make a full recovery and play as big a part in the 2008/09 campaign as possible.

Ospreys physio Chris Towers said: "Richard underwent an arthroscopic procedure to remove a loose piece of cartilage floating in his right shoulder.

“The early signs are excellent and the shoulder is settling well. It's too early to predict an exact date for when we can expect Richard on the field but he will miss the start of the season.

“However, this is a relatively minor procedure so he won't be sidelined for too long. We'll assess his situation closely and will be in a better position to predict his return in a couple of weeks."