The 2018 Six Nations 'absent XV': Eight Lions, Two Frenchman & more
Top 10s/ListsFriday, 12 January 2018 at 16:12
As the Six Nations rolls into town once again, an ill-fortuned group of key players must come to terms with the prospect of watching their team-mates from the sidelines.
From multiple Scotland props to France’s Wesley Fofana, each country is suffering from their own share of injuries and absentees.
In light of this, here we propose our own Six Nations’ ‘absent XV’:
RUCK POLL:
Fullback: Jared Payne (Ireland)
Ulster Rugby has chosen to remove British and Irish Lion Jared Payne from their Champions Cup squad this week. The versatile Ireland international has not played since suffering migraine symptoms while on tour with the Lions in New Zealand. He now looks likely to also miss the Six Nations.
Winger: George North (Wales)
Back on the casualty list after missing the entire Autumn series due to a knee injury. Further damage has revealed that the speedster will be not fit to play again for 'up to six weeks'.
Centre: Jonathan Davies (Wales)
Davies is set to miss the 2018 Six Nations after being ruled out for "in the region of six months" with a foot injury in November. The 29-year-old British and Irish Lions back was injured in the closing stages of Wale's 29-21 loss to Australia and may miss the rest of the season.
Centre: Ben Te'o (England)
Worcester's England powerhouse is set after undergoing “proactive” knee surgery.
to miss the start of the 2018 Six Nations because of the ankle problem which has kept him out since October. The 30-year-old British and Irish Lions back has made just seven appearances for his club this season.
Winger: Wesley Fofana (France)
French international centre Wesley Fofana has experience on the wing so he's being put here. He was hit by a new injury blow in December and is expected to be out for three months, ruling him out of the Six Nations. The Top 14 side said Fofana had been diagnosed with a cervical disc herniation after complaining of "symptoms that alarmed the Clermont medical staff".
Fly-half: Camille Lopez (France)
The Clermont fly-half is currently recovering from a fractured leg he suffered in October and isn't expected back at all until February. Capped 16 times by France, the 28-year-old number ten was left writhing in agony after a tackle from Piers Francis caught his leg, resulting in an awkward landing that caused the instant fracture.
Scrum-half: Dan Lydiate (Wales)
Really? Yes. We're going to tinker with the Wales flanker, who will miss the rest of the season with a bicep injury Ok. we know this isn't really acceptable, but the matter of fact is that Europe's scrum-half contingent are in rude health this time of year.
Prop: Darryl Marfo (Scotland)
The Scotland prop was one of the finds of their autumn series but is likely to miss at least the first two matches of their Six Nations campaign. The 27-year-old has not played since emerging from obscurity to start all three November Tests but a specialist deemed earlier this week that an ongoing back problem does not require surgery, however further treatment.
Hooker: Fraser Brown (Scotland)
Fraser Brown, the Glasgow Warriors and Scotland hooker, faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines while medical specialists try to understand why he has suffered a number of head injuries over the past few months without having shown any of the usual symptoms of a concussion.
Prop: Zander Fagerson (Scotland)
Scotland prop Zander Fagerson will miss the bulk of the NatWest 6 Nations after suffering a foot injury. Glasgow, who will play Leinster in the Champions Cup on 14 January, revealed the 21-year-old would be out for up to eight weeks after an accident in training.
Lock: Jake Ball (Wales)
The Scarlets lock is likely to miss Wales' Six Nations campaign because of injury. The 26-year-old went off in the first half of Wales' 33-18 loss to New Zealand with a dislocated shoulder that later required surgery. Scarlets coach Wayne Pivac confirmed Ball would be sidelined from three to four months.
Lock: Tim Swinson (Scotland)
The Glasgow lock is set to miss Scotland's Six Nations campaign after being ruled out for at least four months with a hand injury in November.
Flanker: Sam Warburton (Wales)
The Wales flanker, who has not played a match since captaining the British and Irish Lions to a Test series draw in Auckland last July, is almost certain to miss the remainder of the season
Flanker: Sean O'Brien (Ireland)
The back-rower is set to miss the opening rounds of this year’s Six Nations following a minor operation on his hip. Leinster confirmed today that the 30-year-old flanker had undergone a small procedure after seeing a specialist this week to address some tightness in his hip.
Number Eight: Taulupe Faletau (Wales)
Faletau is out of the Six Nations after suffering a tear to his knee. The Wales No 8 was cleared out a ruck aggressively by Mathieu Bastareaud in Bath's defeat by Toulon in December– and now he will be out for three to four months. What aggravates matters is that he has injured the same left knee twice before in the last year.
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