Wallabies duo set to miss Bledisloe opener
Hunt is set to be out of action for eight weeks following ankle surgery.
The inside centre, one of the stars of Australia's home Tests last month, had an ankle sprain and will miss a chunk of the Wallabies' Rugby Championship campaign, starting with the All Blacks in Sydney on August 19.
Hunt and Kurtley Beale were set to compete for the No.12 spot but with the dual rugby international out for an extended period Beale is in line to make his first start for the Wallabies since 2015.
"Karmichael [Hunt] is going to be out for six to eight weeks," coach Michael Cheika told reporters.
"He ended up having a small operation on his syndesmosis injury and will do nothing for the first 10 days before we start working on him and his fitness levels.
"He's very disappointed but there's nothing you can do about it when the injury happens, you've got to get on with it. It makes an opportunity for someone else in the team now,"
The 30-year-old, will be aiming to return for the Wallabies' away Rugby Championship Tests in South Africa and Argentina in October.
Meanwhile, wing Eto Nabuli has also been ruled out for the Bledisloe Cup opener, with an ankle and a posterior cruciate ligament injury.
Agence France-Presse
