UNLUCKY PATCHELL SWEATING ON BOKS TOUR SPOT
INJURY JINX STRIKES SCARLETS ACE AGAIN
WALES are sweating on the fitness of Scarlets fly-half Rhys Patchell after he limped off against the Stormers with a hamstring injury – just days after earning a long-awaited Test recall.
The 29-year-old looked despondent as he made his way from the pitch shortly after coming on as a secondhalf replacement in the 26-21 defeat on Saturday night.
Wales head coach Wayne Pivac will be left sweating on the news about Patchell.
Were the fly-half to miss out on the summer tour for South Africa it would be a cruel blow, having just been called up to a Wales squad for the first time since the autumn of 2020.
Scarlets coach Dwayne Peel said he was unsure about the severity of Patchell’s injury and more will be known in the coming days.
Dan Biggar and Gareth Anscombe are the other fly-halves in Pivac’s squad to take on the world champions this summer, with Bristol Bears playmaker Callum Sheedy the likely option to replace Patchell if he is ruled out.
Johnny Williams, who was also named in the Wales squad after missing the Six Nations, left the field for a head injury assessment, and also appeared to have a sustained a hand injury prior to that.
However, Peel said that the centre was “fine”.
The Scarlets’ defeat meant the Ospreys earned qualification for next season’s Heineken Champions Cup.
Toby Booth’s side were left watching events unfold at Parc y Scarlets after they went down at home to the Bulls on Friday night.
A Scarlets victory on Saturday would have seen them pip the Ospreys in the race for qualification for Europe’s top-tier event.
But they squandered a half-time advantage as the South African side clinched a late win.