Wales coach Warren Gatland could see his midfield placed into cold storage again ahead of Sunday’s Six Nations Championship opener at Murrayfield after Gavin Henson suffered a calf muscle strain in training yesterday.
Henson is poised for a first Test match appearance since last year’s Grand Slam-clinching victory over France.
The injury, however, threatens to derail Gatland’s plan - for the second time this season - of pairing Ospreys star Henson with 6ft 4ins Cardiff Blues centre Jamie Roberts.
Wales have never lost a Six Nations game Henson has started, but Gatland will not delay any decision until after his squad fly to Edinburgh on Friday evening.
The 27-year-old did not train today, while tomorrow is a scheduled day off for the squad.
Henson has missed the last six Tests, initially because of an ankle injury and then a long-standing Achilles’ tendon problem he aggravated before the autumn series opener against South Africa.
Gatland had hoped to field Henson and Roberts for the Springboks match in early November, yet his plan collapsed at base camp when Henson withdrew 24 hours
before kick-off.
“Gavin just felt his calf tightening in training,” said Gatland. “He will have some treatment, there is a day off tomorrow, and when he comes in on Friday we will make a decision.
“We are not going to wait like we did in the autumn until the day of the match. It’s only fair, in the first game, we make the call on Friday.
“If Gavin is not right, Tom (Shanklin) will come in and probably go to 13, Jamie move to 12 and Andrew Bishop brought in as bench cover.
“There is no point training on it and making it a major problem that would keep him out for six or eight weeks.
“We are being precautionary at the moment, but if it is still tight on Friday and it’s not right, we will pull him.”
Henson’s scheduled return is one of three changes from the side that beat Australia 21-18 just under 10 weeks ago.
He replaces Shanklin, with Roberts moving to outside centre, while 20-year-old Cardiff Blues wing Leigh Halfpenny makes his Six Nations debut and Ospreys scrum-half Mike Phillips returns after recovering from a major knee injury that required two operations.
Scrumhalf Phillips, whose last Wales appearance also came against France last March, takes over from the injured Gareth Cooper, who is due to undergo minor knee surgery.
