MELBOURNE, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Australia scrumhalf Will
Genia has undergone a full reconstruction of his right knee
after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament during the
Wallabies' 26-19 defeat of South Africa over the weekend, the
team said on Wednesday.
The surgery at a Brisbane clinic went well, but Genia's
expected recovery time remained a minimum six months, the team
said in a statement.
The Papua New Guinean-born 24-year-old, rated one of the
finest scrumhalves in the world, has been replaced by Nick
Phipps for the Wallabies' first match of the tournament against
Argentina in the Gold Coast on Saturday.
Australia lost both their opening matches to New Zealand and
lie third in the four-team southern hemisphere competition,
eight points behind the leading All Blacks.
(Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by Peter Rutherford)