Former Australia captain Stirling Mortlock was on Tuesday ruled out of upcoming Tests against New Zealand and England due to a torn calf muscle, officials said.
The Wallabies will play their first Test under new skipper Rocky Elsom against New Zealand in Tokyo on October 31 and face England at Twickenham on November 7.
Mortlock, who said he had a ”decent size tear in the muscle”, was hoping to rejoin the 35-man squad ahead of the Test against Ireland on November 15.
”I think realistically we’re targeting being 100% right by that week leading into the Ireland match,” he told reporters.
”I’ll be ready to go, don’t worry about that.”
Mortlock has just recovered from a knee injury which sidelined him for much of the 2009 Tri-Nations series. — AFP
