Davies added to Welsh injury list

Sat, Jan 12, 2013, 00:00

   

Rugby:Wales have suffered another significant injury blow ahead of the Six Nations after Cardiff Blues second row forward Bradley Davies damaged his ankle ligaments in training. The Blues confirmed the injury, saying it would not be known how long Davies will be sidelined for until after surgery.

“Bradley will have an operation early next week and an accurate timescale on his recovery will be assessed after the operation,” the club said in a statement.

Interim Wales head coach Rob Howley must hope it will be a brief spell on the sidelines as he was already facing a lengthy injury list, with Davies his last fully fit lock until this latest setback. Only yesterday, centre Ashley Beck suffered an ankle ligament problem of his own, while Rhys Priestland (Achilles tendon), lock Luke Charteris (knee) and prop Aaron Jarvis (knee) have all been ruled out of the tournament.

Ospreys second-row forward Alun-Wyn Jones, meanwhile, is currently recovering after shoulder surgery and flanker Dan Lydiate has not yet played since suffering a serious ankle injury earlier this season. Jones and Lydiate are both given chances of featuring at some stage of the Six Nations, while Ian Evans has made encouraging progress in his return from a knee injury and hopes to be available.

Wales kick off their campaign in three weeks against Ireland.

Rabo Pro 12

Team P W D L F A BP Pts
Ulster 22 17 1 4 577 348 11 81
Leinster 22 17 0 5 585 386 10 78
Glasgow 22 16 0 6 541 324 12 76
Scarlets 22 15 0 7 436 406 6 66
Ospreys 22 14 1 7 471 342 4 62
Munster 22 11 1 10 442 384 8 54
Treviso 22 10 2 10 414 450 6 51
Connacht 22 8 1 13 358 422 4 38
Cardiff 21 8 0 13 335 450 6 38
Edinburgh 22 7 0 15 499 504 8 36
Dragons 22 6 0 16 358 589 4 28
Zebre 22 0 0 22 288 573 10 10