MELBOURNE: Wallabies utility back Kurtley Beale will miss the three-test series against England next month and at least part of the southern hemisphere's Rugby Championship as he spends up to six months on the sidelines recovering from a knee injury.
The 27-year-old fell awkwardly seconds into the New South Wales Waratahs' 31-8 win over the Bulls on Saturday and less than a day after confirming he had agreed a lucrative deal to join English side Wasps.
"Beale is likely to be sidelined for four to six months with scans revealing his patella tendon has torn from his patella," the Sydney-based Waratahs said in a media release on Sunday.
"Beale's length of time away from the game will be better understood following surgery tomorrow at midday."
Apart from dashing his hopes of playing the June internationals, the injury could sideline Beale for the entire Rugby Championship which starts against New Zealand on Aug. 20 and finishes against the same side on Oct. 22.
Beale will also miss the rest of the Waratahs' Super Rugby campaign and almost certainly the start of his debut season for Coventry-based Wasps which kicks off in September.
The injury soured the Waratahs' fourth straight win and is a major blow to the side's hopes of making the playoffs ahead of a tough tour of New Zealand.
"He's such a charismatic player. There's a lot of great players around the world but they don't really have that aura around them around the club," Wallabies and Waratahs team mate Nick Phipps told reporters.
"He's the one who picks you up when you're down. He's always happy having a laugh and his rugby mind is second to none.
"He's really tough to replace."
David Horwitz, who represented Australia at under-20 level, stood in for the versatile playmaker at inside centre against the Bulls and is expected to be promoted for the rest of the season.
"Dave Horwitz has just got to grab it now," Phipps said.
"There's no excuse. He's just got to have that confidence in himself to grab that 12 jersey knowing full well that he was probably the incumbent for the next year as well."
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