Sam Warburton has been ruled out of Wales’s Six Nations campaign after having knee surgery that will keep the Lions captain out of the game for up to six months.
Warburton, Wales and the Cardiff Blues decided the flanker should have surgery while he was already sidelined with a neck problem. The move will mean he misses the rest of the season.
Warburton said in a statement: “In close consultation with the WRU and Cardiff Blues we decided it would be proactive to have surgery now on a knee injury and I’m looking forward to returning to action fully fit.”
There was also a blow for England’s Six Nations hopes, with Bath confirming that Semesa Rokoduguni requires shoulder surgery.
Rokoduguni, who scored two tries in his two England appearances off the bench during the autumn, suffered the injury on his return for Bath against Exeter last weekend.
It is a considerable setback for the 30-year-old, who had moved ahead of Marland Yarde and Denny Solomona in the England pecking order, having scored seven tries in eight Premiership appearances this season.
Bath have not specified any expected length of absence but Rokoduguni’s England team-mate Ellis Genge also picked up a shoulder injury which requires surgery last weekend and Leicester have confirmed he will be sidelined for two months. If the lay-off for Rokoduguni is similar, it would mean he will miss England’s opening Six Nations match on 4 February in Italy.
The Bath director of rugby, Todd Blackadder, whose side face Toulon in the Champions Cup on Saturday, said: “It’s obviously a big loss.”
With Maro Itoje also suffering a broken jaw last weekend, Eddie Jones, the England head coach, has three new injury doubts for the Six Nations.
However, Jones will be hopeful that Manu Tuilagi, Ben Te’o and Billy Vunipola, who all missed the autumn series through injury, and Nathan Hughes, who was injured before the third and final match against Samoa, will all be available.
