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BATH, England (AP) — Wales No. 8 Taulupe Faletau will likely miss the Six Nations after tearing a ligament in his left knee.
Faletau was hurt while playing for Bath in a Champions Cup match on Saturday, when he was cleared out of a ruck by Toulon's Mathieu Bastareaud.
Bath said on Tuesday he tore the medial knee ligament, and will be sidelined for three to four months. He may require surgery.
Faletau hurt the same left knee twice last season, and was out for a total of three months. He recovered to make his second British and Irish Lions tour, and was in good form this season, playing in all four of Wales' recent autumn tests.
A three-month recovery would rule him out of Wales' first three fixtures in the Six Nations in February. Four months, and he won't be back playing until April.
"It's a serious one," Bath rugby director Todd Blackadder said.
"It's a bit of a blow. A guy, sort of off the ball, dives sideways through his knee. These things happen."
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