Tuesday 8 September 2015 12:43, UK
Will Greenwood believes injuries to Leigh Halfpenny and Rhys Webb do not signal the end of Wales' World Cup hopes.
Full-back Halfpenny and scrum-half Webb suffered knee and ankle ligament injuries respectively in Saturday's 23-19 defeat of Italy and were carried off on stretchers at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
The Welsh Rugby Union announced on Monday that Halfpenny damaged his anterior cruciate ligament and will miss the tournament, while Webb's status is still unknown.
The injuries mean Warren Gatland will have to shuffle his squad, with Scarlets full-back Liam Williams likely to take Halfpenny's number 15 shirt and fly-half Dan Biggar the prime candidate to assume goal-kicking duties.
Greenwood accepts the injuries to two such key players so close to the tournament are a major blow for Wales but believes they have the personnel to overcome the setback.
"It is just one of those unfortunate incidents in rugby," Greenwood said.
"What does it mean for Wales? Liam Williams is an outstanding full-back - very tough and super physical. Dan Biggar can kick goals, but Leigh Halfpenny is the master marksman so that is a major blow.
"Rhys Webb just cannot stop scoring tries and has been a pivotal, key man in Wales finding some real world-class form, so it is a blow.
"Any country that loses two key starters through the spine of their team - hooker, second row, number eight, number nine, through your midfield players and your full-back - it is a massive, massive blow.
"Does this scupper Wales? No, because of the simplicity of their game plan. They go hard, they go straight and they go around the corner because they trust their physicality.
"They will believe that Biggar can kick goals. Scott Williams has stepped in for Jonathan Davies. Davies is now an irrelevant player because of the class of Scott Williams.
"Is it a blow? Yes. Is it terminal? No."
