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Poo!! Again - not a lucky chain of events for Stanners.
Staniforth misses out
Story by Sportal for the ARU
Thursday, October 04, 2007 - 06:49 AM (AEST)
PA Sport
Scott Staniforth Australia centre Scott Staniforth has not been considered for Saturday's World Cup quarter-final against England after failing to recover from a shoulder injury.
Staniforth suffered major bruising within seconds of coming off the bench in the win over Fiji nearly a fortnight ago but his recovery has been frustratingly slow.
Wallabies head coach John Connolly will leave any decision on a potential replacement until the weekend.
"Scott will be out this weekend and we'll make a decision on his future in the tournament after Saturday," said Connolly.
"He's got bad bruising in the shoulder and hasn't recovered well."
"Scott is important to us because of his flexibility, playing at No.12 and on the wing and that helps our bench a great deal. He is a loss."
Australia will name its side to face England on Thursday.
The fitness of Stephen Larkham will have a bearing on who Australia calls in as a replacement, should it beat England and should Staniforth continue to struggle.
Larkham has not been considered for selection to face England as he recovers from a second knee injury but he is now back in training.
"Stephen ran well yesterday, but he pulled up a little tight afterwards," said Connolly.
"He's got to get through this week, he's got to train again today, he'll run again later in the week and by next Monday we'll have an indication of exactly where he sits and that could impact, if we're still here next Monday, on what replacement we bring in, if Scott is out altogether."
"The medical staff are running Stephen's situation completely and we want him back as soon as possible but it has to be a sensible approach and that's the way they have taken it."
"He ran well yesterday, he got up to a great pace, but he said pulling up was a problem, where he could feel it."