AWJ set to undergo another operation

WALES captain Alun Wyn Jones is to undergo a second operation on the shoulder he damaged while playing against New Zealand in the recent autumn series.

But the 36-year-old Ospreys lock is confident he will play again this season.

The news came from the region’s head coach Toby Booth at his team’s weekly press conference.

Jones dislocated a shoulder in the 19th minute of Wales’ game with the All Blacks on October 30.

The shoulder is the same one he dislocated on Lions duty against Japan in June. He has already been under the knife since the New Zealand game, but he needs further attention.

Booth said: “He has had one operation, and he needs a second, so we won’t really know [what happens] until the second one is done, which is in a couple of weeks.

“We will see where that is and what that gives us. With all the best scans in the world, until you get in there, you don’t really know.

“But he is very confident, and that’s Al for you, and we will put everything around him to make his recovery as quick as possible.

“He is [confident he will play again this season]. The worst thing you can say to Al is that he won’t do something.

“He has got the attitude and mindset, and that’s what sets him apart from a lot of other people. We will get him back as fast as his mind and his body allows.

“We are pretty confident about that.”

This latest blow comes after WalesOnline revealed earlier this month that Jones would be ruled out of the 2022 Six Nations.

The lock set a new world record for caps for one country when he played against New Zealand, taking his Wales appearance tally to 149.

Justin Tipuric and George North are also both on the Ospreys’ injury list, along with fellow international Dan Lydiate and young hooker Dewi Lake.

Like Jones, Tipuric damaged a shoulder in the Lions game against Japan, but he is on target for a December comeback with Booth saying he felt the goal of the flanker playing again by Christmas was realistic.