Anxious wait for Cooper
Wallaby flyhalf Quade Cooper will undergo scans to determine how long he will be sidelined with a serious shoulder injury.
Cooper is set to miss part or all of next month's home Test series against France after dislocating his left shoulder in the Reds' 30-27 loss to the Melbourne Rebels in Brisbane on Saturday.
Initial medical advice was that Cooper was facing at least a month on the sidelines after being diagnosed with a grade three AC separation from a jolting hit on his left shoulder.
With Test coach Ewen McKenzie to name his 32-man Wallabies' squad to face the French on Thursday, the timing could not be worse for Cooper, who had been likely to start in the first of three Tests in Brisbane on June 7.
"Quade had X-rays following the game and was cleared of any bone damage," Reds coach Richard Graham said in a statement on Sunday.
"He will have an MRI (scan) tomorrow and following that will consult the specialist to see what is the extent of the injury.
"At this stage we know he has a Grade 3 AC joint injury and we are hopeful it ends there."
The 50-Test flyhalf was on the field for just eight minutes before landing heavily on his shoulder in a heavy tackle by Rebels pair Laurie Weeks and Tom Kingston.
"I knew there was something wrong," Cooper said after the game.
"I heard a bit of a crack and I could feel that my shoulder wasn't sitting right so I was told I had dislocated my AC joint."
Cooper's setback opens the way for ACT Brumbies' playmaker Matt Toomua to take his place in the Wallabies' starting lineup against the French.
Meanwhile, the Reds suffered a further setback with prop Ben Daley also sidelined with a fracture dislocation of his thumb and will have surgery next week. He is expected to be available after the June Test window.
"Dales is a little more straight forward with surgery booked early this week and a K-Wire inserted into the thumb he dislocated. After an outstanding pre-season, it has been a tough season for Dales with a number of injuries not allowing any momentum. He is a resilient bloke and will roll up the sleeves and get stuck into his work before returning for the July period.
“We have a bye this week and it is pretty timely. The injured list has been growing but this will give us a chance to take stock and recalibrate.
“The players are on individual programs until we come back together Thursday and start preparing for the Highlanders match. Some players will go back to play for their clubs whilst others we will hold back due to the amount of rugby they have played or because our playing stocks are low in a particular area,” Graham added.
