Mortlock admits injury fears

Wallabies skipper facing lengthy spell out with knee injury

Last updated: 10th August 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Mortlock admits injury fears

Mortlock: Injury fear

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Australia captain Stirling Mortlock has admitted he is unsure whether he will be able to play any further part in the Tri-Nations.

The 32-year-old was substituted after half an hour of the Wallabies' 29-17 defeat to South Africa on Saturday after suffering an injury to his left knee.

He is now set to undergo scans to determine the extent of the problem and, with four fixtures remaining, Mortlock fears he may have played his last Test in the competition.

"You know in yourself when it doesn't feel right and it didn't feel right so we'll investigate," he said.

"It's really hard to tell. You don't know with these things, so fingers crossed.

"All things being considered, it's not too bad at this stage.

"We'll get scans either this afternoon or tomorrow and then know exactly what's in front of us."

Coach Robbie Deans confirmed there was no truth in early suggestions that he may have broken his leg, but he accepts that there is a strong chance his skipper faces a long spell on the sidelines.

"Stirling will need an MRI (scan)," he said.

"He had an X-ray and there's no bone damage but there's still the prospect of some cartilage damage and if that's the case then he'll need a clean-up, which would probably rule him out potentially for the remainder of the Tri Nations."

Despite the injury concerns, Mortlock remains positive about Australia's hopes in the tournament despite losing both of their matches to date.

"Every home team has won their matches," he said. "There's been no bonus points secured either.

"I think we're the only ones who've secured a bonus point by losing within that (seven-point) margin so the Tri-Nations is wide open.

"Obviously, we've got a lot of work in front of us but (the competition is) very tough."