Stephen Neal has been placed on injured reserve by the New England Patriots, the team's website reported this morning. Neal made his first start of the season and his second professional appearance at left guard against the Green Bay Packers on Oct. 20.    Neal injured his shoulder while attempting to recover a fumble against the Packers. The injury, which has not been clearly defined, will require surgery that is expected to keep Neal on the injured reserve list for the remainder of the season.    "He, I thought, was really making some progress and doing a lot of good things. It's an unfortunate setback but hopefully he will be able to get this (surgery) done early enough where he will still be able to have a good off-season and work on his personal progress that he has done so well with," Patriots head coach Bill Belichick stated in his weekly press conference.    Neal was a freestyle World Champion in 1999 at 130 kg/286 lbs. In college, he was a two-time NCAA Champion at Cal State Bakersfield and was named the 1999 Dan Hodge Award winner as the nation's top collegiate wrestler.    Following the 1999 World Championships, Neal had shoulder surgery that sidelined him for most of the months leading up to the 2000 U.S. National Championships.