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Australia coach Michael Cheika is hopeful Sefa Naivalu will be fit for August’s Bledisloe Cup opener against New Zealand, but the Melbourne Rebels wing is set to miss the remainder of the Super Rugby season through injury.
Naivalu suffered a sprained ankle during the Wallabies’ 40-27 victory over Italy on Saturday.
Addressing reporters the following day, Cheika said: “He’s got a mid-grade syndesmosis injury.
“So you would think with no intervention [operation] required, he’s got about a six, seven-week return to play, which should have him back in time for [the] first Bledisloe [Cup] match.
Final #Wallabies press call for June. #AUSvITA pic.twitter.com/mmESMRSoyY
— RUGBYcomau (@rugbycomau) June 25, 2017
Australia face the All Blacks in Sydney on August 19, with a return fixture in Dunedin the following week and a third encounter scheduled for October 21 in Brisbane.
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