Mortlock to miss Spring Tour opener

Australian Wallabies Vice Captain Stirling Mortlock will miss the opening match of November’s Spring Tour of the UK and Italy after succumbing to a knee injury.

Mortlock has carried the injury to his left knee since the Wallabies’ seven-point loss to New Zealand in Auckland last month and will undergo surgery in Sydney this afternoon to remove a bursa from the front of his knee cap.

“I got a knock (on the knee) during the last All Blacks match and I’ve just struggled to get on top of it,” said Mortlock.

Mortlock, who celebrated his 50th Test for the Wallabies against the Springboks in Johannesburg earlier this month, will be sidelined for up to six weeks.

The 29-year-old will travel with the remainder of the Wallabies’ 37-man Spring Tour squad to Europe on October 27 but will not be available for the November 4 Test against Wales at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.

“I’m obviously disappointed that I won’t be available for the first Test, but I felt that it was better to get the procedure done now so that the injury doesn’t affect me throughout the tour,” said Mortlock.

“The aim is to be fit for the second Test on the tour, against Italy,” he said.

Wallabies Team Doctor Martin Raftery said that Mortlock would begin his rehabilitation during the team’s six-day training camp in Coffs Harbour starting on October 8.

The Wallabies’ 37-man Spring Tour squad will be announced next Tuesday (3 October).

In other news; The Brumbies and Queensland Reds have named their teams for Friday night’s Australian Provincial Championship (APC) Final, with both teams having plenty to play for apart from the one-off title.

All three Wallaby selectors – John Connolly, Scott Johnson and Michael O’Connor – will be in the Viking Park grandstands on Friday night.

It is the last match in the domestic Rugby season and the last chance for selectors to settle on the Wallaby touring squad.

“The APC has been extremely valuable in terms of finalising our Spring Tour squad,” John Connolly said.

“Every match has given us something new to think about, and it has reinforced how valuable the National Competition will be in future years.

The APC Final will kick off at 7:00pm at Viking Park on Friday night. Unfortunately the match will not be broadcast but a match review will be available shortly after fulltime.

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Gregan opts out of Spring Tour (Tues Sep 19)