AUSTRALIAN INTERNATIONAL QUADE Cooper is set for 16 weeks out of action following MRI scans today, which confirmed that the Queensland Reds’ out-half will need surgery to remedy a shoulder problem.
The 26-year-old picked up the grade three AC joint injury in Saturday’s Super Rugby defeat to the Melbourne Rebels, and recovery time after surgery tomorrow has been estimated at 16 weeks.
Cooper will also use this opportunity to have an arthroscopic procedure to clean up loose cartilage in his hip, which means a 12-week recovery period that will run concurrently to the recovery from his shoulder operation.
The Reds estimate that Cooper “should be back to full health in mid-September,” meaning the out-half’s 2014 Super Rugby season is over. Involvement in Australia’s three-Test series against France next month is also out of the question.
The Rugby Championship begins on August the 16th, although Cooper may be fit again for the closing two fixtures on September the 27th [away to South Africa] and October the 4th [away to Argentina].
The Brumbies’ out-half Matt Toomua and Waratahs’ playmaker Bernard Foley are the strongest candidates to wear the number 10 shirt for Ewen McKenzie’s side this season.
Who would be your choice at out-half for the Wallabies this season?
