In-form Wallabies lock Rob Simmons has been scratched from this weekend’s Test against England and is in doubt for the rest of the grand slam tour with a knee injury.
In a blow to Australia’s hopes of winning at Twickenham on Sunday morning (AEDT), Simmons re-aggravated a medial ligament strain at training on Tuesday afternoon.
The only player quarantined from contact in the session, the Wallabies’ lineout caller slipped during a shuttle run and is now looking at a minimum two weeks on the sidelines.
While considered a minor strain, he was being nursed back to action after originally straining his left knee early in the 41-33 loss to the All Blacks, where he played the game out in Dunedin.
The powerful Sitaleki Timani is now set to start in a beefy second row with James Horwill but the Wallabies will miss Simmons’ mobility and lineout expertise.
Horwill, who was replaced by Timani midway through the second half in Dunedin, is now expected to share the calling duties with Ben Mowen.
Simmons had been impressing coach Ewen McKenzie with his high work-rate and consistency as well as his lineout work in a breakthrough Test season.
The injury continues the Queenslander’s rotten end-of-season luck after being rubbed out of last year’s European tour after playing just 15 minutes in the opening loss to France.
Coming off the bench in Paris, Simmons was sin-binned for a dangerous tackle and later suspended for eight weeks.
Speaking before training on Tuesday, the 24-year-old admitted the frustrating end to a disappointing 2012 had spurred him to improve his game and bulk up in the gym to be a more powerful lock.
“Just 15 minutes and the tour was all over,” he said.