Wales scrum-half Rhys Webb's World Cup future in balance
Sunday 6 September 2015 12:13, UK
Wales scrum-half Rhys Webb could miss the Rugby World Cup after suffering a serious-looking ankle injury in Saturday's warm-up match against Italy in Cardiff.
Webb, the PRO12 player of the season and the Welsh rugby writers' player of the year, was trapped under a ruck midway through the first half and screamed in pain as his ankle was wrenched backwards.
After being treated on the pitch he was taken to hospital for an X-ray and was replaced by Gareth Davies. Wales eventually won the match 23-19.
If Webb is ruled out it could open the door for a return for Mike Phillips, the British and Irish Lion who was culled from the squad last month.
Leigh Halfpenny was also carried off and captain Sam Warburton admitted the problems both encountered in the unconvincing victory are a concern.
"Rhys Webb and Leigh Halfpenny are two key players," he said. "Obviously we haven't got a clue of the extent of the injuries.
"They'll be assessed over the next 24-48 hours, but fingers crossed they'll be good because they're huge players for
us. That wasn't at all anywhere near our best performance but we had a lot of disruptions and managed to grind out a win.
"We had to treat that game as though it was a World Cup match and get the win. We have two from the last two games and can go into the Uruguay game now."
