Wales are sweating on the fitness of fullback Gareth Thomas ahead of next Saturday's visit of New Zealand to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
Thomas twisted a knee as he captained Wales to a 61-26 victory over Canada on Friday.
Wales coach Gareth Jenkins said Thomas would undergo a scan on Saturday, but he was not holding out much hope of the 90-times-capped player featuring against the All Blacks.
PHOTO: AP
"It doesn't look like he will make it at the moment but we are trying to remain positive," Jenkins said.
"The concern is that in twisting the knee he has opened up the joint, but to what degree we don't know," he said.
"By Monday morning [today] we will know more as far as selection is concerned. Gareth is a key player in our environment, not just on the field, but in the team environment. It would be huge if he wasn't available," Jenkins said.
Thomas sustained the knee problem early in the Canada match but managed to play through the pain.
The injury adds to Wales' problems behind the scrum ahead of Saturday's clash with the All Blacks.
Gavin Henson pulled out just before the Canada game with an infected toe, while captain Stephen Jones is still in rehabilitation after twisting his knee in the 29-29 draw with Australia.
"Gavin's toe was very sore on Friday and was put on antibiotics which the medical team believe they will kick in and there should be a big improvement by Monday," Jenkins explained.
"Stephen's had a big week rehab-wise and I'm confident he will be available next week and back in training on Monday [today]," Jenkins said.
Jenkins, who is due to announce his side tomorrow but could delay that until Wednesday, said he was glad to have the extra day over New Zealand to prepare for Saturday's match.
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
Top seeded Jessica Pegula on Friday once again fought back from a set down to reach the WTA Charleston Open semi-finals with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win against Russia’s Diana Shnaider. Defending champion Pegula has lost the first set in all three of her matches at the tournament so far, but again dug deep to maintain her hopes of retaining the title. The world No. 5 from the US took 2 hours, 10 minutes to defeat 19th-ranked Shnaider, relying on a formidable service game that included eight aces. Shnaider battled well in the first two sets and broke early for a 2-0 lead