Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones will need a second shoulder operation after being injured on international duty last month.

Jones, rugby union’s most-capped international with a total of 161 Tests including 12 for the British & Irish Lions, was hurt in Wales’ 54-16 defeat by New Zealand in Cardiff.

Toby Booth, coach of Ospreys where the 36-year-old Jones plays his club rugby, confirmed the news on Wednesday: “He has had one operation and he needs a second, so we won’t really know [a timescale for his recovery] until the second one is done, which is in a couple of weeks.”

Wales head coach Wayne Pivac had already said he does not think Jones will be available for a Six Nations campaign which the title holders start with a match against Ireland in Dublin on 5 February.

Booth, however, echoed the New Zealander’s belief that Jones, now just one shy of 150 caps for Wales alone, will return before the end of this season.

“We will see where that [second operation] is and what that gives us,” he added. “With all the best scans in the world, until you get in there, you don’t really know. But he is very confident, and that’s Al for you, and we will put everything around him to make his recovery as quick as possible.

“The worst thing you can say to Al is that he won’t do something. He has got that attitude and mindset, and that’s what sets him apart from a lot of other people.

“We will get him back as fast as his mind and his body allows. We are pretty confident about that.”

Ospreys centre Jonathan Davies took over as captain for Wales’ second Autumn International Test, against world champions South Africa before flank Ellis Jenkins led the side out for Tests against Fiji and Australia.

© Agence France-Presse