As reported yesterday on Scrum, Patrico Noriega is in danger of missing the tournament through injury.
The Argentinian born Wallaby prop damaged his shoulder in training on Wednesday and although the initial diagnosis was a trapped nerve the prognosis now seems much worse.
Team doctor John Best said Noriega, who was outstanding during the 1995 tournament for Argentina, could be out for two to three weeks at best, and at worst could miss the entire tournament as a result of ligament damage to the shoulder. "Rather than dwell on that we'll just be patient and wait and see, but we are very concerned," he said.
Noriega, who was named on the bench for the Romania game, has been an important part of the Australian plans this year, mainly as a second half replacement for Richard Harry.
Australia have four props at home on standby in the event of injuries - Glenn Panoho, Andrew Heath, Cameron Blades and Rod Moore.