Wales dealt blow ahead of Six Nations as Faletau ruled out of tournament

The Wales rugby squad has been dealt a blow as Taulupe Falteau is ruled out of the Six Nations tournament.

Faletau, a British and Irish Lion, suffered a fractured forearm after returning for his club Bath at the weekend. The 28-year-old had only just returned to the field after breaking his arm in October.

The back row tweeted, "In & out. I'll be back".

The experienced squad, led by captain Alun Wyn Jones, kick off the 2019 tournament in Paris against France on Friday February 1.

The same ten front-row forwards who featured in Wales' 2018 Under Armour Series squad are again named.

Head coach Warren Gatland named Leigh Halfpenny in the squad despite concussion concerns and Wasps star Thomas Young appears on the list too.

"We are incredibly excited heading into the 2019 Guinness Six Nations and we are looking forward to kicking the tournament off in Paris against France," said Wales Head Coach Warren Gatland.

"We have a really experienced squad of players, who have been around a number of campaigns together and we feel we are in a pretty good place going into this huge year.

"We have got a few injuries and have selected a larger squad because of that.

"We initially selected 40 players but that was reduced to 39 on Monday with Taulupe's injury ruling him out.

"Six Nations rugby is an important time of year for rugby fans, players and coaches alike and we are all looking forward to meeting up and preparing for this year's championship."