BEN Smith is on the mend after a successful operation to repair his injured shoulder.

The Hereford United playmaker has undergone surgery in a four hour procedure which involved tightening stretched shoulder ligaments and re-attaching them to the bone.

Smith revealed that the ease with which he had dislocated the joint for the second time against Gravesend & Northfleet in February persuaded him to undergo surgery immediately rather than wait until the end of the season. He first dislocated his shoulder during a pre-season friendly after signing for the Bulls in the summer of 2002 and missed the first three months of the season as a result.

The ex-Arsenal trainee, who was enjoying a brilliant season, had the operation a week ago and has pencilled in a return to training by July.

Smith revealed he could probably have returned in time to play some part in Hereford's Conference run in if he waited to go under the knife but felt the risk was not worth it.

"Once you have dislocated your shoulder, you've got a 70 per cent chance of doing it again and being a footballer it stands a great chance of happening again," he said.

"Against Gravesend a player pulled me back and it went. To be honest he hardly touched me which made me realise I had to have the operation because I don't want to have another season ruined by it."

The 25-year-old meanwhile has been keeping a close eye on his team-mates who can leapfrog Chester City at the top of the table if they beat Shrewsbury Town today.

""After a bit of a rocky patch we've hit form winning five of the last six and if we can win against Shrewsbury we can really put the pressure on," added Smith.

"They've got games in hand but at this stage in the season I think it's better to have the points."