Welsh international back row man Rob McCusker is returning to regional rugby and has joined the Ospreys ahead of the new season.

The former Scarlets skipper, who won the last of his six caps against Japan in 2013, played 17 times for London Irish last season in the Aviva Premiership and European Challenge Cup. The Exiles were relegated and the 30-year-old was initially enticed back to Wales to play for Carmarthen Quins in the Principality Premiership.

But now the 30-year-old has joined one of his former club's arch-rivals to help them overcome a bout of back row injuries in the early part of the season. The Ospreys kick-off their pre-season campaign against Leicester Tigers at the Liberty Stadium on Friday night and the versatile McCusker linked up with his new team mates for the first time at the Llandarcy Academy of Sport training base on Tuesday morning.

McCusker joins after Sam Underhill underwent surgery on his shoulder, an injury that will sideline him for four months. The club also have several other back row forwards at various stages of rehabilitation from injury and targeting a return to action over the coming weeks.

"We're going into a very busy period, with two games against Leicester and a training camp in Belgium, where we play their national team. With Sam Underhill's injury, and one or two others working their way back to full fitness who are not quite there yet, we felt that we needed someone else in to help us through this period," said Ospreys head coach Steve Tandy.

"We're fortunate to have someone with Rob's versatility and experience available and have brought him into the environment with a view to him helping us prepare for Zebre at home in the opening round of the PRO12 next month.

"He knows us, knows plenty of the squad and we know him well, and we know that the kind of character he is. He will be able to slot in and do a valuable job over the coming weeks while allowing us to ensure we don't rush anybody back too early."

Wrexham-born McCusker spent 11 years with the Scarlets, making 133 appearances and scoring six tries. He captained the team between 2012 and 2014 before switching to London Irish last October. He made his Wales debut against South Africa in Cardiff in 2010