Wales 10 Anscombe set to miss start of Six Nations

Wales fly-half Gareth Anscombe is “unlikely” to be fit for the start of the Six Nations according to Ospreys head coach Toby Booth.

No timeframe has been given, but he is not expected to be fit for Wales’ opener against Ireland on 4 February.

Asked whether he would return for the Six Nations, Booth said: “It’s unlikely for sure.”

Booth added: “But we just want to get him back playing as soon as we can, whenever we can.”

He compared the injury to Anscombe’s shoulder blade to that suffered by Justin Tipuric before the 2021 British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa.

Tipuric had a number of setbacks and missed the 2021-22 season but Booth is hopeful Anscombe’s injury is not as severe.

“He’s in the same scenario that Justin Tipuric was in with his shoulder blade, so that’s a difficult one. We’ll see how that goes.

“He’s back in the building and doing everything he can to get back as soon as he can.

“It’s not as bad as Justin’s. The timeline is still going to be pretty lengthy, though,” Booth added.

It is a blow to returning Wales head coach Warren Gatland who picked Anscombe ahead of Dan Biggar when Wales won the Grand Slam in 2019.

Gatland made no secret of the fact that Anscombe was missed during the World Cup that year and praised the player for his performances during Wales’ autumn campaign this year.

With Biggar out injured, Anscombe had regained the Wales number 10 jersey, and was starting to show a return to full fitness after a career-threating knee injury in August 2019 ruled him out for two years.

“He’s a guy we feel for because he’s worked so hard in the time that I’ve been here,” Booth added.

“The resilience that he showed to keep pushing and get back to a starting jersey for us and for Wales was good and he was playing well.

“One thing about Gareth is that he’ll keep pushing. He’s a very resilient guy and he’ll do his utmost to get back as soon as he can and we’ll help him do that.”

Meanwhile, Wales hooker Dewi Lake is back in Ospreys training and could be available for the trip to Montpellier on December 17.

Lake missed Wales’ autumn campaign after picking up a shoulder injury in the United Rugby Championship defeat against Dragons on 23 October.

“He’s a very abrasive player and he has to have confidence in his body” Booth said of Lake who did not require surgery.

“We have to make sure he gets back and is in a position to play well.”