Wales are considering drafting a new assistant coach after Duncan Jones suffered a ‘freak injury’ in training.
Jones, 47, will have surgery after injuring both knees on Friday following an accidental collision during a live training session this week.
It means head coach Steve Tandy is now without a scrum expert for the Six Nations, which begins for Wales against England on Saturday.
“It’s tough bless him and was an absolute freak injury,” said Tandy.
“It was just a freak collision, not even a high-impact one, but he’s suffered injuries to both knees.
“It’s a blow for us because Duncan brings so much energy to the group and was buzzing around.”
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Tandy has Matt Sherratt and Danny Wilson as permanent assistants while Dragons duo Dan Lydiate and Rhys Patchell, like Jones, have returned to Wales duty after helping with defence and kicking, respectively, in the autumn campaign.
Wales will assess whether they need to bring in specialist scrum expertise, although former hooker Wilson has previously coached the set-piece.
Tandy admitted the loss of former loose-head prop Jones, who has coached Ospreys since 2018, is a “distraction” ahead of a tough test at the Allianz Stadium.
“I’m disappointed for Duncan because I know how much it means to him to coach his country and be around the group,” he said.
“He was still in camp on Wednesday and reviewing the scrums, although he couldn’t get down to the field.
“It is a distraction but our feelings are for Duncan because he’s a great character and the players absolutely respect what he does.”
