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Staniforth`s race against time

Scott Staniforth: World Cup hanging in the balance

Australia centre Scott Staniforth's future in the tournament is up in the air after he failed to recover from a shoulder injury in time to be named fit for the quarter-final clash with England.

Staniforth has not been considered for the clash after his recovering following major bruising suffered within seconds of coming off the bench in the win over Fiji nearly two weeks ago failed to go to plan.

And Wallabies head coach John Connolly will leave any decision on a potential replacement until the weekend, with his side facing elimination if they lose to Brian Ashton's side.

"Scott will be out this weekend and we'll make a decision on his future in the tournament after Saturday,'' said Connolly.

"He's got bad bruising in the shoulder and hasn't recovered well.

"Scott is important to us because of his flexibility, playing at number twelve and on the wing and that helps our bench a great deal. He is a loss.''

The fitness of Stephen Larkham will also have a bearing on who Australia call in as a replacement, should they beat England and should Staniforth continue to struggle.

Larkham has not been considered for selection to face England as he recovers from a second knee injury but he is now back in training.

"Stephen ran well on Tuesday, but he pulled up a little tight afterwards,'' said Connolly.

"He's got to get through this week, he's got to train again today, he'll run again later in the week and by next Monday we'll have an indication of exactly where he sits and that could impact, if we're still here next Monday, on what replacement we bring in, if Scott is out altogether.

"The medical staff are running Stephen's situation completely and we want him back as soon as possible but it has to be a sensible approach and that's the way they have taken it.''