Wales have released injured loose forward Ross Moriarty from their squad ahead of the Autumn Nations Cup showdown with England in Llanelli on Saturday, but have welcomed back Josh Navidi and Taulupe Faletau to training.
Moriarty failed to recover from an ankle injury that has kept him out of the autumn series of matches and he will not feature in the remaining two games, the Welsh Rugby Union confirmed on Tuesday.
Better news for coach Wayne Pivac was the return of Faletau, though his replacement at number eight for the 18-0 victory over Georgia last weekend, Aaron Wainwright, was one of the stand-out performers in an otherwise limp team display.
Navidi has also not played since the Six Nations defeat by England in March having struggled with hamstring issues over the last year or so, but like Faletau trained fully with the squad on Monday and Tuesday.
Loose forward Justin Tipuric is undergoing concussion protocols and remains touch and go after he received a swinging arm to the face from Georgia’s Beka Saginadze that forced him from the field.
It has been a disappointing run for Pivac, with the victory over Georgia ending a six-match losing streak. Wales, however, do still have the slimmest of chances of topping their Autumn Nations Cup Group A.
England lead the pool on nine points, with Ireland and Wales both on four. Another win, a draw or defeat with a bonus point would leave Eddie Jones’s team safely top of the pile.
For Wales to finish above them they would have to overturn their current 56-point deficit and points scored deficit, which would require a minimum victory margin of 29, assuming that win includes four tries.
(Reporting by Nick Said, editing by Ed Osmond)
