Wales and Ospreys have suffered a significant blow with scrum-half Kieran Hardy facing knee surgery and months on the sidelines. Hardy, 30, started the 38-31 win at Dragons on Friday night, but had to be helped from the field during the first half in evident pain.
He was sent for scans after the game and on Tuesday, Ospreys transition coach Richard Kelly confirmed Hardy needs a spell on the sidelines. "He's had a serious injury and is going to need surgery," said Kelly. "We won't know the exact timeline [of recovery], but we are probably talking months over weeks."
Kelly added: "We're gutted for Kieran obviously. He's been playing some excellent rugby for us - last season and then continuing into this one. He's got clarity at least about the surgery, but obviously he's disappointed. Hopefully he'll have a good rehab process and we get him back on the pitch."
Hardy was a standout player during the 2025-26 United Rugby Championship campaign and the 32-cap international had been expected to retain his place in Steve Tandy's Wales squad for the November Tests. While Tomos Williams was first choice at scrum-half in the 2026 Six Nations, Hardy was cemented as his number two, featuring in all five matchday squads. His lay-off is likely to rule him out of the autumn internationals and raises doubts over his availability for next year's Six Nations. That may open the door for Ospreys team-mate Reuben Morgan-Williams, and could also increase calls for Gareth Davies to reverse his international retirement.
Source: BBC Sport · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing