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AUSTRALIA have been dealt a savage blow for their treacherous six-match spring tour with the loss of premier forward enforcer James Horwill.
The aggressive lock is facing six months on the sidelines due to a ligament tear in his foot which requires surgery and has also put a question mark over the Australian pack's toughness.
Horwill managed to be the most consistent and damaging member of the pack despite nursing the injury for virtually the entire Tri-Nations campaign.
The 23-year-old believed the ****ling problem would fade with a fortnight's break but scans today revealed the tear in the lisfranc ligament.
“It was a bit of a shock,†he told AAP.
“It was always a chance that I needed surgery but I didn't expect it. I expected to hear it was a ****ling injury.
“I'm very disappointed and I was pretty shattered when I found out this morning.â€
The injury robs coach Robbie Deans of his most intimidating forward following the dual losses of UK-bound Rocky Elsom (Leinster) and Dan Vickerman (Cambridge).
With bulldozing No.8 Wycliff Palu racing time to recover from a serious knee injury, Australia must uncover new enforcers to confront the likes of New Zealand, France and England.
As a measure of his speedy rise, Horwill was only one of four Wallabies to have started in all nine Tests this year and also the team's equal leading try-scorer (four) despite starting the year with only one previous cap.
“I was really looking forward to the trip,†Horwill said.
“It would have been a good chance for me personally and the forward pack, as a whole, to measure ourselves against some big European packs like England and France and that's disappointing.
“It will be pretty hard sitting at home watching the boys run around on the TV.â€
The man with most to gain from Horwill's absence on the six-match tour of Hong Kong and Europe is Brumbies second-rower Mark Chisholm.
He served a three-year apprenticeship behind Vickerman and Nathan Sharpe but had his Test hopes wiped out by a bout of chicken pox in June.
Versatile 2m duo Hugh McMeniman and Dean Mumm may also be used in the second-row as well as being tried to fill Elsom's gap at blind-side flanker.
“It's disappointing news, but playing on wasn't an option,†Deans said of Horwill's injury.
“While we've managed James through the back half of the (season), the improvement to the ligament that was expected hasn't materialised.â€
While Horwill's lengthy sideline stint is a major problem for Australia, it's a massive blow for a young Queensland.
Their skipper isn't expected to be available until midway through the Super 14, although he was optimistic of a return in round four.
But Reds coach Phil Mooney was adamant he wouldn't risk Horwill's future.
“He certainly won't be rushed back,†Mooney declared.
“While he will obviously be missed by the Reds at the start of next season, there's no way we'll compromise his ability to contribute to both Queensland and Australia in the future by taking any unnecessary risks.â€
The abrasive McMeniman looms as a second-row replacement for the Reds with Mooney having more big back-row options to cover the loss of his young captain.Huge blow imo. He's been our best lock all year without a doubt and has a knack of scoring tries. Our front rows buggered, Horwill and Vickerman out, Elsoms gone, Palu could miss out (which would probably be a good thing).
Guttered he will miss the start of the S14 too, terrible for Queensland and it might affect him getting the captaincy permantly
