It appears the Cardiff Blues medical department have taken the opportunity of an extended summer break to fix up the squad as three players go under the knife.

Kristian Dacey, who temporarily took over as club captain in the second half of the season after Ellis Jenkins was ruled out with a knee injury, missed the last three games of the campaign and has undergone surgery on his shoulder to rectify the problem.

Meanwhile Rhys Gill and Olly Robinson both played on through to the end of the season, but have both also undergone shoulder operations in a bid to be fit and healthy for the start of the 2019/20 campaign.

As a result all three will be on the clock in order to be ready to go when the Guinness Pro14 gets underway on the last weekend of September, as John Mulvihill looks to get off to a flying start while other teams lack their international players.

There is better news elsewhere though, as Rhun Williams has half an eye on a return before Christmas, having been out for over a year.

The 21-year-old picked up nerve damage in his shoulder while making a tackle away at Zebre in February 2018, and has not featured since, with real concerns that he might not play again and it even impact on his day-to-day life.

However he has continued to make a recovery, and while nothing is even pencilled in yet, there is hope that a return to playing isn’t too far away.