Tomas Francis has been stood down by Wales' medical staff for the rest of the tour of South Africa.
The tight-head prop suffered a serious blow to the head within 30 seconds of coming off the bench during the 32-29 defeat at Loftus Versfeld last Saturday. He was removed from the field on a stretcher and it has now been confirmed he will play no further part in the series.
Francis would have missed the second Test in Bloemfontein this Saturday due to World Rugby's new mandatory 12-day rest period for category one concussions. But, upon further medical evaluation by Wales' medics, Francis will be sent home on Tuesday and will therefore play no further part in the series.
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A short statement from the Welsh Rugby Union said: "Tomas Francis will play no further part in Wales’ tour in South Africa following the concussion he sustained in the first Test match against the Springboks at Loftus Versfeld. The WRU medical team have withdrawn Francis from the remainder of the series to allow him to optimise his recovery. He will return home to Wales tomorrow [Tuesday]."
It is a significant blow for Wales, who are already without Dragons tight-head Leon Brown.
There are no further additions to the squad, with three tight-heads already in South Africa in the form of Dillon Lewis, who played virtually the entire game in Pretoria, Sam Wainwright and Harri O'Connor, who was called up to the squad before they departed due to Francis carrying a back niggle.
It's the second consecutive campaigns where Francis has suffered a significant blow after he clashed heads with team-mate Owen Watkin whilst making a tackle against England during the Six Nations.
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