Wales lock Christ Tshiunza suffers setback in race to be fit for Six Nations

Wales lock Christ Tshiunza appears to be in a battle to be fit for the start of the Six Nations after a setback in his recovery from the broken foot that he suffered in Exeter Chiefs’ opening game of the Gallagher PREM season.

Tshiunza missed Wales’ Autumn Nations Series campaign after getting injured in the 33-33 draw with Northampton Saints at Franklin’s Gardens at the end of September and was expected to be out for between 8-12 weeks.

It was the second time Tshiunza, 23, had broken his foot, as he missed five months of the 2023-24 season after getting injured in a win over Sale Sharks at Sandy Park in his first game after returning from the World Cup.

The Chiefs were confident that Tshiunza, who has only played 18 times for them since the start of last season, would be back in action this month after it was revealed that he didn’t need an operation.

But Chiefs boss Rob Baxter admits that he doesn’t know the time scale of his expected return following his latest setback, but with Wales kicking off their Six Nations campaign against England in a month, the clock is ticking.

“Christ has unfortunately picked up another foot injury. So he could be a little while out. I need to double-check with my medical team exactly where he is,” Baxter told RugbyPass.

“I wouldn’t want to say that he is out for the full Six Nations, and he then turns up fit. I couldn’t give you the exact details right now. I haven’t had a medical update on a few of the lads in the last week or so.”

Meanwhile, Baxter says the Chiefs won’t contest the 20-minute red card received by Campbell Ridl for taking out Henry Arundell in the air in the third minute of Saturday’s 33-26 defeat to Bath when he appears before a disciplinary commission this evening. Bath scored 26 points without reply while the Chiefs were a man down.

“He will have a suspension because we aren’t going to go the disciplinary and fight it, saying it’s an incorrect decision because it’s not. So that means there will be a level of ban.

“It’s a really difficult skill, and he has just taken off too late, probably with the expectation of meeting the ball at the same time as the opposition, and the opposition have jumped earlier than him,” added Baxter.