Bath have confirmed England and British & Irish Lions prop Will Stuart faces “a long road ahead” in his recovery after rupturing his Achilles tendon.
The tight-head prop sustained the injury in Bath’s Champions Cup win over Munster on Saturday evening.
He was forced off in the early part of the second half and Bath coach Johan van Graan was fearful over the severity of his injury when speaking post-match, and the prognosis is grim.
“He’ll get operated on somewhere in the next few weeks and unfortunately with an Achilles there’s a long road ahead,” Van Graan told the BBC.
“Every injury is different, but for a prop just think about the amount of load that goes through your legs.”
Stuart has 53 England caps and won three Lions Test caps on their summer tour of Australia this year. He is now certain to miss the rest of the 2025-26 season, including the upcoming Six Nations where he would’ve played a prominent role for England.
“Injuries are part and parcel of the game but once it’s an Achilles or an ACL [anterior cruciate ligament] or a neck — big injuries that take people away from the game for a long time — that’s never nice to see,” Van Graan said.
– Rugby World Cup draw: England to face Wales in 2027 pool stage
– Eben Etzebeth – Eye gouge was ‘never intentional’ but ‘deserves’ ban
– Overreactions: England are Six Nations favourites? Ireland in a rut?
“Gutting really, he’s such a big part of what we do and what we’ve achieved. The positive out of that is he’s got an amazing group of staff and players and family around him and we’ll go through that journey with him every step of the way.”
The news is a bitter blow both for England and Bath.
With Bath, he helped them win the treble last season and has been in impressive form this term. He’s also excelled for England and is by far their most experienced tight-head prop.
