Wales have been given a boost with the news that Taulupe Falteau has been told that he can return to training after visiting a specialist about a recent ankle injury.

There were concerns that the 24-year-old could be out for an extended spell after limping out of Newport Gwent Dragons' Guinness Pro12 victory over Zebre, but a specialist confirmed that the problem was not a recurrence of an old injury.

"It seems he tweaked an ankle. The specialist he saw said it was nothing major and for Toby to see how it goes," said Dragons forwards coach Kingsley Jones. "Sometimes there's a rush for players to have surgery, but it was decided to wait for it to settle down.

"Toby has trained. He's done some running on it under the guidance of our medical staff and conditioning team. We haven't ruled him out of the New Year's Day derby with Cardiff Blues at Rodney Parade."

Wales meet England in the Six Nations opener on February 6.