Taulupe Faletau making good progress ahead of Six Nations - Wales assistant coach

Wales assistant coach Robin McBryde stated that Bath forward Taulupe Faletau is making a good progress ahead of the upcoming Six Nations tournament which begins next month.

The 26-year-old suffered a knee injury during his Aviva Premiership debut for Bath two months back which forced him to miss three out of the four November Tests for Wales.

After successfully returning back to action, Faletau sustained another knee problem during Bath's Aviva Premiership clash against Wasps last month, raising questions on his availability for the Six Nations tournament.

McBryde confirmed that Faletau has returned to training and is expected to feature in the Anglo-Welsh cup for Bath on Friday against Gloucester. However, he further added that the former Wales Under-20 will not be rushed into the Six Nations opener.

"It's going the right way, but it's a bit too early to say yea or nay for Italy," McBryde said.

"But he won't be playing this weekend - that would be rushing it.

"Let's see how he is going this week and next week before making any decisions. But ideally, it would be great if he had some game-time the following weekend (Italy).

"He is progressing well and is back running. We are in good contact and have a good relationship with the Bath physiotherapists."

Wales scrum-half Rhys Webb also suffered an ankle injury during the November Test but he made a successful comeback after captaining his club team Ospreys to six consecutive victories in European Challenge Cup and is likely to feature for them in the upcoming Anglo-Welsh cup encounter against Bristol this week.

"It was good to see him (Webb) and others coming back to fitness," McBryde added. "That only adds to the competitive nature of training.

"We are discussing individuals with regards to giving them a little bit more game-time.

"There are a number of players who could potentially go back to their regions and clubs this weekend."