(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Wales have made two injury-enforced changes in their front row for their final Six Nations match against Italy at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday.
Props Samson Lee and Gethin Jenkins suffered injuries in the first half of the victory over Ireland in Cardiff on Saturday and are replaced by Aaron Jarvis and Rob Evans, who will make his first start as head coach Warren Gatland named an otherwise unchanged side.
Lee left the Millennium Stadium on crutches after suffering an Achilles injury while Jenkins strained a hamstring and was replaced at halftime.
Gatland said Lee had suffered a full rupture and his hopes of playing in the World Cup in September were "50-50".
Tighthead prop Lee was due to undergo surgery on Monday but this was postponed because of too much swelling around the injury.
"It is a longer termer that could potentially keep him out of the World Cup," Gatland told reporters on Tuesday.
Wales go into the game in Rome with an outside chance of winning the title. Gatland's side, like England and Ireland, have won three matches but have a significantly inferior points difference to their two main rivals.
"Obviously, it's disappointing for Gethin and Samson, but Rob and Aaron stepped up well last weekend and we expect the same on Saturday," Gatland added.
"The challenge to us is to go to Italy and win, and try and win by a significant margin, but we know that's an extremely tough ask and the first job will be to simply get the result. "Italy build their confidence around the scrum and line-out drive and that's an area we are going to have to compete strongly in at the start of the match."
Wales made four changes to their bench with Rhys Gill, Ken Owens, Scott Andrews and Gareth Davies coming in.
Wales: 15-Leigh Halfpenny, 14-George North, 13-Jonathan Davies, 12-Jamie Roberts, 11-Liam Williams, 10-Dan Biggar (Ospreys), 9-Rhys Webb; 1-Rob Evans, 2-Scott Baldwin, 3-Aaron Jarvis, 4-Luke Charteris, 5-Alun Wyn Jones, 6-Dan Lydiate, 7-Sam Warburton, 8-Taulupe Faletau
Replacements: 16-Ken Owens, 17-Rhys Gill, 18-Scott Andrews, 19-Jake Ball, 20-Justin Tipuric, 21-Gareth Davies, 22-Rhys Priestland, 23-Scott Williams (Scarlets).
Parisse still a doubt as Italy call in reinforcements
Italy captain Sergio Parisse remains a doubt for their Six Nations finale against Wales this Saturday, when experienced Toulon prop Martin Castrogiovanni will be among several reinforcements to the injury-hit Azzurri squad.
Parisse came off late in Sunday's 29-0 rout by France in Rome, in which Castrogiovanni played no part, with suspected ligament damage in his right foot.
After undergoing tests on Monday, the Stade Francais third row forward initially said his injury was less severe than first feared.
"Thanks for the messages, injury less serious than first thought. Objective: to recover as soon as possible," Parisse said on Twitter.
But after undergoing scans, which revealed damage to his big toe, Italy team chiefs remained cautious.
"He will be re-evaluated in the coming days to see if he is fit enough for Saturday's game against Wales," said a statement from the Italian Rugby Federation (FIR).
Losing Parisse for the final game of what has been a largely disappointing campaign would prove a huge blow, although the Azzurri should be buoyed by the return of Castrogiovanni after he was left out of Italy's clash against France.
Castrogiovanni was among Jacques Brunel's squad announced on Monday, alongside Leicester's Michele Rizzo and Gonzalo Garcia.
Italy confirmed Matias Aguero and fly-half Tommaso Allan, who limped off at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday, are out of the Wales game with hamstring and rib injuries respectively on Sunday. Allan was diagnosed with a "grade two hamstring tear", while prop Aguero suffered "cartilage damage" to his ribs. Both have left Italy's training camp.
Italy sit second from bottom of the Six Nations table on two points, but could end up with the wooden spoon for the second successive year if Scotland, beaten by the Italians in Edinburgh, account for Ireland at Murrayfield.
Italy squad for final 2015 Six Nations game against Wales (kick-off 1230 GMT)
Forwards
Martin Castrogiovanni, Dario Chistolini, Lorenzo Cittadini, Alberto De Marchi, Michele Rizzo, Leonardo Ghiraldini, Andrea Manici, George Biagi, Joshua Furno, Marco Fuser, Quintin Geldenhuys, Robert Barbieri, Marco Barbini, Mauro Bergamasco, Francesco Minto, Sergio Parisse, Samuela Vunisa
Backs
Edoardo Gori, Guglielmo Palazzani, Marcello Violi, Kelly Haimona, Luciano Orquera, Enrico Bacchin, Andrea Masi, Luke McLean, Luca Morisi, Gonzalo Garcia, Simone Ragusi, Leonardo Sarto, Giovambattista Venditti, Michele Visentin.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.