Wales fullback Leigh Halfpenny was released from hospital on Sunday after being taken off on a stretcher during the 14-12 defeat by Australia at the Millennium Stadium.

Halfpenny was injured during the closing seconds, when Kurtley Beale’s last-gasp try clinched victory for Australia, having taken Wales to within sight of a win by scoring all their points courtesy of four penalties.

The 23-year-old was taken to Cardiff’s University Hospital Wales complaining of neck pain and underwent scans.

“He was immediately admitted to hospital to exclude any serious neck injury, a process which thankfully has now been concluded,” the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) said, in a statement on Sunday.

Cardiff Blues’s Halfpenny added: “I want to say thank you to all of the medical teams who have looked after me following my injury yesterday.

“I would also like to thank all of those who have been sending me messages of support following the injury.”

The WRU added Halfpenny would now undergo a period of treatment and rehabilitation.

Halfpenny, a contender for a place in the British and Irish Lions squad for next year’s tour of Australia, was one of Wales’s leading players in a dispiriting end of year series that saw them lose all four of their Tests against Argentina, Samoa, world champions New Zealand and Australia.