James Horwill struggles off the field © Getty Images

Enlarge

Related Links

News: Genia goes under the knife

News: Horwill to go under the knife

Players/Officials: James Horwill

Tournaments/Tours: Super Rugby

Teams: Australia | Queensland Reds | Reds

The Wallabies have suffered a huge blow on the eve of their second Test with Wales with the news that skipper James Horwill has been ruled out for the rest of the season.

Horwill tore his hamstring during the Reds' win over the Brumbies in May and was originally set to miss the Test series with the Welsh. But Wallabies coach Robbie Deans has confirmed that the second-row is set for a longer spell on the sidelines with the coach saying "it's unlikely he'll play any rugby this year".

Horwill will visit a specialist on Monday and in his absence, David Pocock has been wearing the skipper's armband. With the Rugby Championship just around the corner, Pocock looks the favourite to lead the reigning Tri-Nations champions into the tournament, but Deans claims the captaincy will be decided on a game-by-game basis.

"There's just no point in looking beyond each week,'' Deans said. "None of us know what's coming in the future. Clearly David's done a great job. He's responded to the challenge and it came around quickly.''