The legendary No. 8 wasn't included in Wales' squad following his comeback from injury, but that could soon change over the coming months

Steve Tandy has not ruled out Wales legend Taulupe Faletau making a fourth World Cup.

One of Wales' greatest players of all time, the talismanic No. 8 made his comeback from injury on the weekend - having not played since March. However, thrown into the starting side for Cardiff against Northampton Saints in the Champions Cup, the 35-year-old looked as though he had never been away.

Slotting back seamlessly, the two-time British and Irish Lion immediately put himself back into the frame for Test selection without even playing an hour of rugby.

Ultimately, Tandy opted not to pick Faletau in his 39-man squad for the autumn - but didn't rule out the No. 8 making next year's World Cup in Australia.

"Toby in fairness has been out for a while," he said. "It’s amazing what he can do. We’re not ruling anybody out."

When asked directly whether Faletau could make a fourth World Cup, Tandy added: “I don’t see why not.

“For me, if you were playing regularly and you were playing well, then we can’t afford not to think of anyone, and it’ll be about performances.

“When we’re speaking to any player, it doesn’t matter at what age you are.

“Whether it’s someone like Steffan Emanuel, Lewis Edwards or Taulupe – if you were playing regularly and you were playing well, then we can't afford to not be thinking of anyone.

"It's about performances. It's great to see him back out there. You see how quickly he picks up the game.

"He's a legend of the game. He's a world-class player. We would definitely not rule anyone out.

Faletau broke through at the 2011 World Cup as a 20-year-old - playing in all seven matches as Wales came desperately close to a first World Cup final.

He then played his part in the 2015 and 2023 tournaments, missing another run to the semi-finals in 2019 through injury.

The 2023 tournament saw Faletau back to his best, with Wales' campaign derailed after he suffered a broken arm against Georgia in Nantes.

Since then, injuries have kept Faletau's Test appearances to a minimum.

He has played just five Tests for Wales since that World Cup, with the last of those being the first Test against Japan in the summer of 2025.

Minutes for Cardiff have been few and far between as well, playing just 16 times across the last three seasons.

Tandy admitted that he didn't speak to Faletau about selection this time around, given how he has only just returned to playing after a long lay-off.

Faletau talks in bid for World Cup

However, having been named in his first Wales squad last year, Tandy has held conversations with the legendary forward previously about his ambitions with Wales.

“I haven’t spoken to Toby since Cardiff's game but I’ve had chats with him over the period that I have been in charge, because he was going to be in the first two campaigns," added Tandy.

“I’ve spoken to Toby about being fit and available, then we can cross that bridge when he has put some consistent rugby together.”

He added: “Toby is competitive. He loves playing for Cardiff and loves playing for Wales, so I can see the drive in him.

“If he's out on the field then he's not playing just to play for Cardiff, I think Toby has ambition to play for Wales.”

Given Faletau has struggled to string matches together in recent seasons, often picking up injuries not long after making his return, there are question marks over whether he has the durability to make another World Cup.

Given his proven quality, Faletau probably has a bit of extra grace - not necessarily needing to prove himself week-in, week-out.

But showing he can back up performances will be crucial if he is to make it to Australia next year.

“With the older athlete, you're not going to ask them to play 80 minutes every week," said Tandy.

“You need to have enough evidence that they are going to be robust enough for a World Cup campaign, when you only take a squad of 33.

“You have to be robust to play back-to-back games, which I'm hopeful Toby can do. You have to manage players. Even the boys that are probably at their prime physically, you still probably can't back up 80 minutes every week either.”