Taulupe Faletau's proposed move to Bath appears to be off after Wales coach Warren Gatland suggested he would not sanction the deal.
From next season Gatland will only be allowed two wildcard picks to select players who are plying their trade overseas.
Players with existing foreign contracts are excluded from the new agreement, but with Jamie Roberts and Rhys Priestland already having agreed moves to Harlequins and Bath respectively, a similar deal for Faletau would give the New Zealander a headache.
And with his No.8 still contracted to Newport Gwent Dragons, a move to the Premiership this summer seems all the more unlikely as it would require Gatland's blessing.
"I would be limiting myself and why would I do that?" the Wales coach said when asked about the situation on Sky Sports News.
"At the moment, unless something changes, hopefully he will be playing in Wales (next season)."
However, Gatland admitted that due to a smaller player pool, Wales' policy on overseas players had to be more fluid than other nations.
"Wales has a smaller playing base, just four teams," he added.
"We want to keep players in Wales but we have dispensation to pick a couple of players outside (of Wales)."
Warren has revealed that his 47-man training squad will be cut to 36-38 players in the week after the first @DoveMen test against Ireland
— Welsh Rugby Union (@WelshRugbyUnion) July 30, 2015
Meanwhile, Gatland has revealed he will cut his 47-man World Cup training squad in the week following the team's first warm up match.
Wales take on Ireland at the Millennium Stadium on August 8 before a return match in Dublin three weeks later.