Faletau facing two-month lay-off
Former All Black forward Blackadder, speaking following Bath's 58-5 home rout of Newcastle in the Premiership on Saturday, said that Faletau had a scan would be out for anything from six to eight weeks.
The powerhouse Faletau missed the game after suffering medial ligament damage early in a league win away to Northampton. That leaves him struggling to be fit in time for Wales's international fixtures in November when they face Australia, Argentina, Japan and South Africa on successive weekends in Cardiff.
Faletau, however, is not the most severely injured loose forward at the Recreation Ground, with Bath and Scotland's David Denton set to be out of action for four months with a hamstring tear.
Bath are now trying to secure the return of fans' favourite Leroy Houston from Australia in a bid to cope with their back row injury crisis. Despite being without two such experienced internationals Bath still ran in eight tries against Newcastle, to the delight of former Crusaders boss Blackadder.
"I'm just so pleased for our players. It was fantastic. It was a great atmosphere. The support here is unbelievable. You just feel the passion and commitment to the team. The support we got today was amazing. Long may it continue," he said.
Agence France-Presse
