Wales and Bath prop Archie Griffin is set to be out for a “considerable” period after suffering a shoulder injury earlier this month.
The 23-year-old sustained the injury during the 24-20 Champions Cup defeat by La Rochelle on 10 December and has since undergone surgery.
“He’ll be out for a considerable amount of time,” Bath head of rugby Johann van Graan told BBC Radio Somerset.
“He’s had a bit of bad luck over the last few months since he made his Welsh debut so we’ll look after him in the coming months.
“It’ll be a longish process but with Rory Murray [head of medical] and his team here at the club they’ll look after him very well and hopefully we’ll see an even better player than he is right now.”
Griffin made his international debut for Wales during the Six Nations in the spring and has since won six caps, recently playing against Fiji, Australia and South Africa this autumn.
Wales start their 2025 Six Nations campaign in six weeks’ time away to France on 31 January.
Griffin has been limited to just one Premiership appearance for Bath this season, on the opening weekend, after which he was diagnosed with pericarditis, a condition where the sac around the heart becomes inflamed.
