Dewi Lake is set to miss the start of the Six Nations, with Wales coach Warren Gatland having already outlined Ospreys team-mate Scott Baldwin as his replacement.
Lake was forced off with a knee injury during the Ospreys' dramatic Champions Cup victory over Leicester Tigers on Friday night. Having missed out on the autumn campaign through an injury suffered after the squad was named, this would be more bad luck for the 23-year-old.
With established squad member Ryan Elias struggling with an Achilles problem, Gatland would have to look elsewhere for replacement hooker - with Baldwin's fine form in the Ospreys' European victories and his familiarity with the returning Wales coach likely swaying Gatland's head.
The 34-year-old last played for Wales in the summer of 2017, with the last of his 34 caps coming against Samoa.
"Dewi is probably going to be injured, we are just waiting on an update but it does not look good," said Gatland.
"If he is ruled out we will bring in Scott Baldwin.
"It's disappointing for him. If you are are going to get an injury it is probably the best time to get it now. Hopefully then he recovers in time to potentially be selected later on in the year.”
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