Ryan Jones will miss Wales’s opening Test against Argentina with a shoulder injury, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) announced on Monday.
The 31-year-old Jones had to fly home from the national squad training camp in Poland last week for a scan on his longstanding shoulder problem.
And having reviewed the results, the WRU said Monday he would sit out Saturday’s clash against the Pumas at the Millennium Stadium.
However, he is expected to be available for the Test against Samoa on Friday week.
Jones’s injury is the latest setback for Wales ahead of a series also featuring Tests against world champions New Zealand and Australia.
Newport Gwent Dragons flanker Dan Lydiate is a long-term absentee after breaking his ankle on regional duty while tighthead prop Adam Jones, the anchorman of Wales’s scrum, will also miss all four of the coming Tests because of a knee injury.
Interim head coach Rob Howley, in charge after Wales boss Warren Gatland’s secondment to the British and Irish Lions for next year’s tour of Australia, is due to name his 22 to face Argentina on Tuesday.