Wales are facing the prospect of starting the Rugby World Cup with just two fully fit second rows after Adam Beard failed to make the plane to Japan.
WalesOnline can reveal the towering Ospreys lock is still back in Wales after having his appendix removed before the squad flew out to Japan on Wednesday.
Beard was admitted to hospital by WRU medics with suspected appendicitis and he was left behind as the other 30 members of the World Cup squad left for the Land of the Rising Sun.
“Adam Beard was admitted to hospital with suspected appendicitis by Wales team medics ahead of the squad’s departure last Wednesday,” a WRU spokesperson told WalesOnline.
“He had his appendix removed uneventfully later that day and is recovering well. He will rejoin the rest of the squad in Japan early next week.”
Beard will be assessed upon arrival in Japan with the hope that he will be ready to face Georgia on September 23.
But it would be a big ask so soon after surgery, and Wales boss Warren Gatland must be preparing to head into that game with just two specialist second rows.
It means Jake Ball, who may well have been given the nod anyway after an impressive warm-up campaign, is likely to start alongside skipper Alun Wyn Jones.
With Cory Hill not expected to recover from a leg fracture until the second game against Australia at the earliest, Gatland will be looking to his makeshift lock Aaron Shingler to provide cover.
Carrying the injured Hill on the plane left Wales exposed to this scenario but the physical, rangey Shingler will be an able replacement to come off the bench in Toyota City.
Wales are due to arrive in Kitakyushu tomorrow as they ramp up preparations for that opener against Georgia.
