A TOUGH SEASON for Stuart Olding has just gotten even worse as Ulster have announced that the centre will likely miss the World Cup after injuring his knee.
The 22-year-old scored a try against Georgia last autumn and had been tipped as a potential World Cup squad member but injuries have limited his opportunities this season.
And Ulster confirmed today that he injured his ACL in last Friday’s bonus point win over Cardiff at Ravenhill.
“Stuart Olding suffered a knee injury in the bonus point win over Cardiff Blues at Kingspan Stadium on Friday night,” the team said in a statement.
“An MRI scan has confirmed that he has an ACL injury in his right knee. He will require surgery and will be out of rugby for up to nine months.”
After missing the Six Nations through injury, this latest setback almost certainly rules him out of this autumn’s World Cup. Even if Olding was to get back ahead of schedule, it is unlikely that Joe Schmidt would select someone who has played so little rugby in 2015.
