Six months on the sidelines puts Wallace’s career in doubt

Munster and Ireland flanker David Wallace faces six months on the sidelines as a result of the knee injury suffered against England on Saturday.

Wallace writhed in agony following a tackle from England powerhouse Manu Tuilagi in the first half of what was a drab affair at the Aviva Stadium and was almost immediately ruled out of the World Cup in New Zealand next month.

Wallace underwent surgery in Dublin on Sunday and Munster today confirmed that he “is expected to be sidelined for at least six months”.

His place in the Ireland squad has been taken by Leinster back row Shane Jennings, who started the penultimate warm-up game against France after Wallace was ruled out with a hamstring injury.

As a result of the injury, Wallace will miss out on all of Munster’s Heineken Cup pool fixtures and the start of their RaboDirect Pro 12 campaign. If he is absent for six months, he will only be returning to action next February, which puts his participation in next season’s Six Nations in major doubt.

Although age has never seemed to affect Wallace’s performances for either Munster or Ireland, he turned 35 earlier this summer and the one-year extension he agreed with the province in February expires at the end of the current campaign, meaning, unfortunately, that his days at the top level could be numbered.

Munster also issued an update on the progress of Felix Jones, who was also ruled out of the World Cup after sustaining an ankle injury against France. Jones is to visit a specialist next week to determine for how long he will be out of action, but Munster have admitted that the full-back faces a “lengthy spell in rehab”.