Anscombe dealt new blow
GARETH Anscombe is set to be sidelined for the whole of the Six Nations because of the injury he sustained on Wales duty against Australia.
His region the Ospreys reported last week it was “unlikely” the 31-year-old fly-half would be fit for the start of the championship after sustaining a smashed shoulder in the Test with the Wallabies in Cardiff on November 26.
However, the outlook seems even gloomier again for the 35cap player.
Anscombe could be facing a sixmonth layoff or thereabouts, while The Rugby Paper suggests the talented playmaker could even be at risk of missing the World Cup, with his earliest projected return to international action not expected before next August’s global tournament warm-up matches against England.
The paper quotes a source who says: “The injury is worse than first thought.
“As well as putting Gareth out for the whole Six Nations, he could be struggling to make the World Cup warm-ups.”
It’s the last thing Warren Gatland would have wanted to hear after his installation as Wales head coach for the second time.
The New Zealander will start work this week on the job of trying to rebuild a competitive Wales from the ruins of a dismal 2022.
He had singled out Anscombe for plaudits for his efforts during the November Tests.
Sadly, the Ospreys man is facing a prolonged spell on the casualty list. He spent more than two years on the sidelines with a knee injury sustained while playing for Wales in the summer of 2019.
A rib problem then took him out of the picture for his region earlier on this season.