RHYS Webb will miss the start of the Six Nations after the Ospreys revealed he will be out of action until February.
The scrum-half, who suffered a foot ligament injury in the final World Cup warm-up against Italy at the Millennium Stadium, said on New Year’s Day that he hoped to return this month.
However, his region have a more cautious approach and have told Webb that a February comeback is on the cards, ruling him out of the Ireland, Scotland and France encounters.
Chris Towers, medical performance manager at the Ospreys, said: "His recovery is going well and we're now concentrating on getting him to the physical level he needs to be in order to perform as we want.
"He has begun running again, starting doing some skills work, and the focus is on getting him available for selection at the end of February, which would be five months post-op."
Gareth Davies is set to continue at 9 for Wales, backed up by Lloyd Williams.
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