The Ospreys medical team have confirmed that Lee Byrne will miss this summer"â¬â¢s Wales tour to South Africa to undergo keyhole surgery on his knee.
The Ospreys medical team have confirmed that Lee Byrne will miss this summer's Wales tour to South Africa to undergo keyhole surgery on his knee.
Fullback Byrne made his final appearance of the season in the Ospreys defeat against Edinburgh at the Liberty Stadium last night and will go under the knife over the course of the coming week. The decision to withdraw Lee from the tour in order to undergo treatment was made on the basis of medical advice received and after full consultation between the Ospreys and the WRU's medical teams. Lee will be closely monitored post-operation and is it anticipated that after a period of
rehab over the summer he will be able to play a full part in pre-season training and will resume playing as usual at the start of the 2008-09 campaign.
Ospreys Physio Chris Towers explained:
"Lee has been suffering intermittent pain and swelling of his left knee due to a cartilage defect of his patella femoral joint. Although this hasn't been limiting his ability to perform on the rugby field, it had started to impact on certain aspects of his training so in the best interests of Lee, the decision has been taken to use the summer break to deal with the problem by way of arthroscopic surgery to resolve the issue.
By taking this action at this moment in time we are ensuring that disruption caused by the injury are kept to a minimum and we are allowing him extra recovery time post op, which will ensure that he is able to train and prepare properly for the 2008-09 season and the challenge that lie ahead."