Four weeks for Ospreys' King

Ospreys flank James King is looking at a spell of around a month on the sidelines following surgery to repair the ear he damaged in a freak incident during the New Year’s Day win over Cardiff Blues.

The 21-year-old King collided with Blues loose forward Xavier Rush in the Pro12 Welsh derby and was taken to The Welsh Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery at Swansea’s Morriston Hospital.

Ospreys head physio, Chris Towers, said that the player is doing well nine days on.

“James underwent a surgical procedure on the night of the game to repair a lacerated ear and is now following medical advice to enable it to heal properly. The expectation is that it will around four weeks before he will be in a position to take contact again, and as such we are working to get him back playing within those timescales,” he said.

Meanwhile, there’s good news regarding Richard Fussell, who has been out since injuring his ankle in the pre-Christmas Heineken Cup game against Saracens at the Liberty Stadium.

Towers commented: “Richard is entering the final stages of rehab and is doing well. We should be in a position next week to make a decision regarding availability for the Biarritz game, but I’d say he has a realistic chance of being available for selection.”