Mcnicholl to miss autumn internationals

JOHNNY Mcnicholl will miss Wales’ autumn international campaign with fears over his ankle injury having been confirmed.

The Scarlets winger will be unavailable for up to eight weeks following the damage he suffered late on during last Saturday’s European Challenge Cup quarter-final clash with Toulon.

He went down in a lot of pain and had to be helped off the field after lengthy treatment, so the signs did not look good at the time.

The former Crusaders try machine, who has just turned 30 this week, will now be out of action until later November.

That rules him out of the bulk of Wales’ six match autumn programme, which runs from October 24 to December 5.

Mcnicholl made his Test debut starting against Italy in February, having qualified on the three year residency rule, and then came on as a sub in the next three Six Nations matches.

His Scarlets team-mate Liam Williams hasn’t played since March and is currently out with a foot problem.

And Owen Lane of the Cardiff Blues is yet to make his comeback having sustained significant hamstring damage in January and then picked up a calf issue.

Meanwhile, there’s better news on the injury front about Leigh Halfpenny.

He was removed for a Head Injury Assessment during the Scarlets’ defeat out in Toulon and didn’t return to the field.

But he has now completed the HIA process and is back in full training.

With Williams still sidelined, Halfpenny is the favourite to be Wales’ No.15 come the start of the autumn campaign.

He showed over the weekend that he remains one of the best defensive full backs in world rugby, with an incredible try-saving tackle on his Toulon opposite number.

In further injury news, the Scarlets’ young winger Tomi Lewis has undergone surgery for a significant knee injury sustained in training and will be out for around 12 months.