Wales Hooker Dewi Lake Faces Uncertain Summer After Shoulder Surgery
Wales hooker Dewi Lake, who has earned 31 international caps, is currently doubtful for Wales' upcoming Nations Championship campaign in July and will not feature again for the Ospreys before his scheduled transfer to Gloucester for the 2026-27 season.
Lake is set to undergo shoulder surgery, which will sideline him for the remainder of the domestic season. The 26-year-old now faces a challenging recovery timeline as he aims to be fit for Wales' uncapped international match against the Barbarians at Twickenham on 27 June.
This fixture precedes Wales' Nations Championship opener against Fiji at Cardiff City Stadium on 4 July. Following that, Steve Tandy's Wales squad will travel to San Juan to face Argentina on 11 July and then to Durban to play South Africa seven days later.
Lake had an impressive Six Nations campaign, notably captaining Wales in the absence of the injured flanker Jac Morgan, who has recently returned to action.
Other recent news includes Morgan's encouragement from Wales' Six Nations performance, the Ospreys receiving approval for a return to St Helen's, and their play-off hopes being affected by a loss to Connacht.
Ospreys Head Coach Mark Jones Details Lake's Injury and Surgery
"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 expressed uncertainty regarding how much Lake will participate in Wales' summer fixtures.
"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."
Lake's Departure from Ospreys and Impact on Team
Dewi Lake will join Jac Morgan in departing Ospreys at the end of the season to sign with Gloucester.
Ospreys will not have Lake available for the United Rugby Championship (URC) run-in or the European Challenge Cup campaign. This includes a last-16 away match against Ulster in Belfast scheduled for Saturday, where Sam Parry, Lewis Lloyd, and Efan Daniels will compete for hooker responsibilities.
Ospreys supporters will not see Lake play again before his move to Kingsholm next season. Head coach Mark Jones praised Lake's influence and contribution to the team.
"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."
