Lake injury a blow for Ospreys and worry for Wales

Hooker Dewi Lake is a doubt for Wales' Nations Championship campaign in July and will not play again for Ospreys before his move to Gloucester for the 2026-27 season.

Lake is set to have shoulder surgery and will miss the rest of the domestic season.

The 26-year-old now faces a race to be fit for Wales' uncapped international against Barbarians at Twickenham on 27 June.

This is followed by the Nations Championships opener against Fiji at Cardiff City Stadium on 4 July.

Steve Tandy's side then travel to face Argentina in San Juan on 11 July and South Africa in Durban seven days later.

Lake had an impressive Six Nations after captaining Wales in the absence of the injured flanker Jac Morgan, who has just returned to action.

"Dewi is going to have an operation on his shoulder," said Ospreys head coach Mark Jones.

"He has had a grumbling shoulder for a while which has niggled him on and off and he has tried his best to play through it at certain points.

"He could possibly have got to the end of this season, but the feeling from himself was he would like to get it sorted.

"To be fair to him, it is his body and he has the right to make sure he is in tip-top shape.

"So we are unfortunately going to lose him and it will probably be for the remainder of the season."

Jones was unsure how much Lake will feature for Wales in the summer.

"From what I gather, I think he is hoping to get back for some international duty, hopefully all being well at the end of our season and going into the summer series," said Jones.

"That is what I am hearing, but these things do change as timelines progress but that is what we are thinking at this moment."

Ospreys will not see Lake for the United Rugby Championship (URC) run-in or the European Challenge Cup campaign.

This continues with a last-16 away tie against Ulster in Belfast on Saturday with Sam Parry, Lewis Lloyd and Efan Daniels battling it out for hooker duties.

Ospreys fans will not see Lake again before he switches to Kingsholm next season with Jones praising his influence.

"Sport is cruel sometimes and does not always give you the dream ending that you want," said Jones.

"You just have to deal with the cards that you are dealt. Dewi can look back at his time with Ospreys very fondly.

"I kept in touch with him when he was away with Wales during the Six Nations.

"The way he conducted himself in difficult circumstances at the start of the tournament, off the back of some fairly big news off the pitch in Wales, was first-class.

"The way he shouldered that burden and dealt with it, not shying away from the responsibility. and the way he handled that on and off the pitch was great.

"His performances, especially towards the end of the tournament were very strong and he was leading with his words and his actions."