Six Nations 2022: Wales' George North and Justin Tipuric set to miss tournament start
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Justin Tipuric and George North celebrate winning the Triple Crown against England in February 2021
Ospreys say Wales pair George North and Justin Tipuric are unlikely to be fit for the start of the Six Nations.
Wing North suffered a knee injury in April 2021 while flanker Tipuric picked up a shoulder problem while playing for the British and Irish Lions against Japan in Edinburgh in June.
Ospreys head coach Toby Booth confirmed the pair were not back in training.
Wales begin the defence of their Six Nations title against Ireland in Dublin on 5 February.
Tipuric, 32, was expected to be fit before the end of 2021 but he will have to wait to add to his 85 Wales caps after also missing the Lions summer tour of South Africa.
"It's just slow," said Booth.
"Part of those scenarios are around range and motion, pain management and response to treatment. We are governed by how his body reacts."
Asked if Tipuric will be available for the start of the Six Nations, Booth replied: "From what I can see, no, I don't think he will be.
"He has a consultancy appointment coming up, so that will give us some sort of idea of the timeframe, because of the need to have scans, bits and pieces, the healing that's taken place and so on.
"That's normally the key indicator of what the timeline is. Until we get those at the end of this week or start of next week, we'll probably have a better definite timeframe after that. "
North, 29, played an integral part in Wales' 2021 Six Nations success after switching from wing to centre but missed out on a third Lions tour after suffering a knee injury against Cardiff.
Booth also said he would be "erring on the side of no" when asked whether or not North would be fit to face Ireland.
"George is in a different position, the injury is different," added Booth.
"I've seen George around the place doing a lot of training with the injured group and bits and pieces.
"The first step for him is he's allowed to start doing warm-ups, for example, in main rugby sessions, which is great for players psychologically because you know you are getting close.
"I saw him earlier today and he seemed in quite a good mood. We'll have our usual medical update, but he's making progress.
"For a person like George, the position he plays and whatever, with explosive power, lower body power's massive for him, so we have to make sure that we tread carefully there."
Flanker Dan Lydiate, 34, is expected to return sooner than North and Tipuric after suffering a knee injury while playing for Wales against Ireland in February 2021.
"Dan has done a couple of sessions so he is probably the closest out of those three," added Booth.
"He is not training on a daily basis. He is doing little parts of sessions to try and ease his transition in.
"He is in that space between long-term injury and getting back."
Wales are already missing captain Alun Wyn Jones and flanker Josh Navidi for the Six Nations tournament because of shoulder injuries.
Hooker Ken Owens is a doubt because of a back problem but Bath number eight Taulupe Faletau could come into contention after missing the autumn series with an ankle problem.
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