Leigh Halfpenny to consult specialist on concussion related issues

Scarlets head coach Wayne Pivac has revealed that Wales international Leigh Halfpenny will consult a specialist to assess his condition after he sustained a concussion in November last year.

The 30-year-old has been out of action since he suffered the blow during the autumn international clash against Australia on 10th November when he was charged by Samu Kerevi.

Halfpenny was initially set for a return for his club Scarlets in the Pro14 clash against Cardiff Blues last weekend but pulled out of the encounter after suffering headaches.

"He is seeing a specialist and that will hopefully give us an accurate time-frame for him in terms of coming back to play," Pivac said.

"We will know more next week, hopefully.

"It has been about eight weeks now so we want to get some reassurance that we are doing the right things and make sure we stay on track.

"Leigh is very frustrated. You can see a leg injury, these things are easy to deal with, you can see a finish line. Muscles take this amount of time to heal, broken bones take that amount of time.

"But you don't know as much about the head injuries that occur. It is frustrating for all concerned, more so for Leigh."

Pivac, who is set to take in charge of Wales post 2019 World Cup said any time frame on Halfpenny's return will only be known following the medical advice.

“That is for the specialist and our medical team to make that call.

“From our point of view, we just won’t risk putting him out there until he is 100 per cent.”