The Wallabies have suffered another major injury setback with in-form halfback Tate McDermott ruled out for the rest of the year with a serious hamstring problem.
One of Australia’s best-performed players in 2025, McDermott was helped off the field after hurting his leg in the first half of Saturday’s Bledisloe Cup loss to New Zealand.
He has since been told he requires surgery and a long recovery period.
Already ruled out of this weekend’s final Rugby Championship clash with the All Blacks, McDermott will now miss Australia’s end of season tour of Japan and Europe, where the Wallabies desperately need to chalk up some wins to improve their world ranking ahead of the draw for the 2027 World Cup.
Although no timetable has been set on McDermott’s absence, the hope is he will be fit to return for the start of next year’s Super Rugby season.
“He is expected to spend an extended period of time on the sideline throughout his recovery,” Rugby Australia said.
The loss of McDermott is another big blow to the Wallabies, who have struggled for consistent results this year, winning four and losing five of the nine Tests they have played.
They currently sit seventh in the world rankings but need to break into the top six to be included in the first band of seeds for the 2027 World Cup.
Injuries have played a big part in Australia’s patchy results this year, with fullback Tom Wright already ruled out until next season and a number of senior players, including two-time John Eales medallist Rob Valetini, missing matches because of niggling problems.
Halfback has been one of the most troublesome positions for head coach Joe Schmidt.
Australia’s first choice number nine Jake Gordon has been out for most of the season with injuries, prompting veteran scrum feeder Nic White to come out of retirement and fill the void.
Ryan Lonergan made his long-awaited Test debut off the bench in Auckland last weekend when McDermott went off. Lonergan played well so likely to retain his spot this weekend when Schmidt announces his squad on Thursday.