injuryupdate
23-09-2003, 08:57 PM
Toutai Kefu has played his last game for Australia, as his shoulder injury suffered against the All Blacks has not healed as fast as expected. Kefu suffered a fractured scapula which is a very rare injury but one which was expected to heal in time for the second game of the World Cup. He was even given an experimental injection of a biphosphinate-type substance to attempt to speed up healing. The concern now is that he may also have an underlying rotator cuff tear which was initially undiagnosed, making the injury worse than first thought. Patricio Noriega was forced to withdraw from the squad due to a chronic back injury, whilst Owen Finegan failed to win a spot with chronic injuries hampering his form this season. Ben Darwin is also racing the clock to be available for the World Cup with a knee cartilage injury but has been named in the squad, although Stirling Mortlock is fully available having made a comeback from a shoulder reconstruction.