The Wallabies will be without their skipper, Stirling Mortlock, for the remainder of the Tri Nations series after an MRI scan confirmed that he will require an arthroscopy after suffering a lateral cartilage tear in his left knee during last Saturday’s loss to South Africa at Cape Town.

Mortlock sustained the injury 30 minutes into the match and left the field immediately. He is expected to be sidelined for six weeks. Mortlock played in his 80th Test at Newlands.

Utility forward Peter Kimlin is also expected to be out of action for up to six weeks due to a nerve injury in his right shoulder, sustained on the recent Brumbies tour of Europe.

The injuries have forced a recall to Brumbies lock Mark Chisholm and the Waratahs back Kurtley Beale to the Wallabies Tri-Nations squad when it reassembles in Sydney on Thursday.

Chisholm has been sidelined since early April following the broken wrist he sustained during the Super 14. The uncapped Beale appeared in 12 of the Waratahs’ 13 matches during the Super 14, in what was his third season at Super level.

Seven members of the Wallabies’ Tri Nations squad will released for club rugby duties this weekend. They are Beale (Northern Suburbs, NSW), Peter Hynes (GPS, Queensland), Pek Cowan (Warringah, NSW), Phil Waugh (Sydney University, NSW), Matt Hodgson (Eastern Suburbs, NSW), Quade Cooper (Souths, Queensland) and Ryan Cross (Eastern Suburbs, NSW).

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