Ellis Jenkins has been called into Wales’ squad for the New Zealand tour after Dan Lydiate was injured during Sunday’s 27-13 defeat against England.
Lydiate, who captained Wales in the absence of Sam Warburton at Twickenham, went off midway through the first half at Twickenham.
Wales head coach Warren Gatland gave a bleak update after the match, admitting a “miracle” would be required for the 57-times capped Ospreys flanker to recover in time, and the Welsh Rugby Union confirmed soon after that Lydiate would not be flying out with his team-mates on Monday.
“He is struggling,” Gatland said. “He has got a hamstring and potentially an AC (shoulder) injury as well.
“I think Dan has got to process it himself in terms of the tour could already be over for him.
“It is incredibly disappointing that it is unlikely he is going to be getting on the plane (on Monday).
“He will go back to the hotel to have ice and stuff. The assessment from our physios doesn’t look very positive at the moment.”
The WRU pinpointed the shoulder issue as the reason for Lydiate missing the three-Test trip, and said uncapped Cardiff Blues flanker Jenkins – a former Wales Under-20 captain – would link up with the squad before they depart on Monday.
“Ellis Jenkins has been called into Wales’ squad to tour New Zealand after injury to Dan Lydiate,” a statement from the governing body read.
“Lydiate, who led Wales against England at Twickenham this afternoon, has suffered a shoulder injury, which he will fail to recover from in time for the three-Test series.
“Uncapped Cardiff Blues flanker Jenkins, a former Wales U20 captain, will link up with the squad before they depart for New Zealand on Monday evening.”
Wales were already without wing Alex Cuthbert and flanker Justin Tipuric through injuries for the New Zealand tour, while Warburton is recovering from a shoulder injury that sidelined him this weekend.
Warburton, though, is expected to be fit for the opening Test against New Zealand in Auckland on June 11.
England scored 17 unanswered second-half points to beat Wales in a match that served only to emphasise the enormously long odds on Gatland’s squad creating any kind of history in New Zealand.
Wales began brightly for 20 minutes, were reasonable in the final 10, but were generally dreadful for the period in between.
While England have evolved their game since the World Cup, Wales appear to have stagnated. They looked blunt in attack, brought little to the table that England were not expecting, and, more alarmingly for team about to face the All Blacks in three Tests, were often feeble and disorganised in defence.
A below par kicking display from fly-half George Ford was not enough to stop England from easing to victory as they outscored Wales by five tries to one. Ford missed all but one of his seven kicks at goal.
Wales seemed well poised when they went into the break 13-10 ahead after two shots at goal from Dan Biggar and a converted Rob Evans try, but offered virtually nothing after the break.
England’s first-half scores were provided by Luther Burrell and Anthony Watson, while Ben Youngs, Jack Clifford and Marland Yarde all crossed in the second half.
