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Taulupe Faletau ruled out of World Cup
By PA
Wales were left to count the cost of their Rugby World Cup victory over Georgia after number eight Taulupe Faletau suffered a broken arm and two other players were also injured.
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Faletau, who has won more than 100 caps, will take no further part in the tournament as Wales build towards a quarter-final against probably Argentina or Japan in Marseille next weekend.
Wales head coach Warren Gatland said no decision had yet been made on a replacement for Faletau, although flanker Aaron Wainwright is an option to move across the back-row.
Fly-half Gareth Anscombe, meanwhile, withdrew 45 minutes before kick-off in Nantes following a groin problem suffered during the warm-up.
And full-back Liam Williams was on crutches after Gatland said he took a blow to his knee, but Wales are hopeful he will be fit for the quarter-final, with Wales ending their Pool C campaign as group winners with four successive victories following a 43-19 triumph.
“Toby (Faletau) has broken his arm so he will be out,” Gatland said.
“We are just going to assess Gareth over the next 72 hours. He has pulled his groin very high up.
“Talking to the medics, he has got a bit of power still in his leg which is a positive. It means he has not pulled it off the bone.
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“We will probably know in the next 48-72 hours what we need to do with him. Whether we’ve got (time) for him to recover or replace him directly.
“We have got to look at a replacement for Faletau, whether that is directly as a loose-forward replacement or whether we look at another position.
“We’ve got a few sore players, particularly in the backs, after today’s game.
“If you do see Liam Williams on crutches, it is not that he has done anything significantly bad.
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“He got a whack on the knee, and the medics, from a comfort perspective, have put him on crutches to save him walking around a bit.
“He has got a knock and probably won’t take a huge part in training in the early part of next week, but hopefully he will be fit for the quarter-final.”
Gutted