Wales have learned that Scarlets fly-half Rhys Priestland will miss the next six months of the season after undergoing surgery on his injured Achilles.
The 25-year-old picked up the injury in his club's Heineken Cup defeat to Exeter Chiefs last weekend and will now consequently miss the Six Nations.
"I think it was fairly straightforward given that the snap was halfway up his Achilles. It used to take nine or 10 months for a player to come back from this injury but some can get back after six months these days," Scarlets coach Simon Easterby told Sky Sports News.
"Rhys will have his targets and will want to push himself but we must be clear he can't come back before he is ready. Unfortunately it means Rhys will miss most of the season which is obviously a big blow for him.
"He had recovered from a couple of poor performances in Wales's early autumn games. He played well against Australia and was playing well for us last weekend before he got injured."
The injury could also see him miss the Lions tour next summer.
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