Cape Town - Cardiff Blues flyhalf Gareth Anscombe is set to miss the beginning of the PRO14 season with a groin injury.
Anscombe, who was born in New Zealand but plays for Wales, sustained the injury in pre-season training. The 26-year-old has been plagued by injury throughout his career.
It is not the first time he has had groin issues. He spent two months on the sidelines in December after undergoing surgery on his groin.
At the time of the last groin injury he told WalesOnline: “I had a couple of nerves in the groin that had been troubling me for quite some time. I was having injections before the start of the season. It was probably at its worst in the autumn internationals. It came to a front there.
“I guess after the games there it was just troubling me so much. It kind of limited me a bit which is frustrating, when you want to play at your best and you can’t. So I went to Munich and had that cleared up.”
Anscombe will definitely miss Friday's pre-season clash with Exeter Chiefs and is currently on painkilling injections to get him ready for the start of the season.
But this may not be the wise decision in the long-term as the talented pivot will be eager to add to his tally of 11 Test caps when Wales play Australia, Georgia, New Zealand and South Africa in a busy November.