Kristian Phillips suffered a dislocated shoulder last March

Ospreys wing Kristian Phillips expects to return to playing in September following a lengthy injury lay-off.

The 18-year-old dislocated a shoulder at the start of March in a Magners League game against Leinster, an injury that subsequently required surgery.

That saw Phillips miss the end of last season, but this week he has been able to step up his rehabilitation.

"I'm really hopeful of being fit and available again for September, maybe even the start of the season," he said.

"Training is going well, my shoulder is feeling pretty good and I'm enjoying pre-season.

"Obviously I'm not 100% just yet but I'm stepping things up and I'm confident that I'll be back playing again soon.

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"I'm taking part in all the general training with the rest of the squad, with just some changes to protect the shoulder.

"The target for a dislocated shoulder is five to six months rehab and it's coming up to five months now... I've kept on top of my rehab and hit all my targets so far, so touch wood it won't be long before I'm playing again.

"The big test will be when I start taking full contact again. I've started some controlled contact and I'm going to progress that, building up towards full contact again over the next few weeks.

"I'll probably be looking at playing in the Premiership and getting myself back on track."

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