McCabe suffers another neck injury
Australian wing Pat McCabe's long history of neck injuries had another chapter added to the sad saga.
According to the Australia media there are genuine fears the Brumbies hard-man's career is over after he suffered his third neck injury in less than two years in the Wallabies' 20-51 loss to the All Blacks in their Rugby Championship clash at the weekend.
McCabe returned to Australia in a neck brace and will have scans in Sydney on Monday or Tuesday, after feeling similar symptoms to the first two times he broke his neck –
McCabe, 26, has played just seven Tests since November 2012 and injured his neck in three of them.
He initially fractured his neck during Australia's meeting with France in Paris in November 2012. The Wallaby centre then suffered a second neck fracture during the first Test of the series with the British and Irish Lions in Brisbane last year – when he left the field on a stretcher.
McCabem was replaced in the second half of Australia's loss at Eden Park.
Wallaby coach Ewen McKenzie told Australian reporters at the airport that initial scans on McCabe's neck had shown worrying signs for the Brumbies back.
"It was fairly innocuous, he just got a knock and felt it on the top of his head," McKenzie said.
"When you have these injuries you get a feeling for the symptoms and he felt there were similarities so he came straight off.
"He had a scan last [Saturday] night, there's no risk or anything, the brace is purely precautionary, but it shows on the scan that there might be a recurrence of the same injury.
"He'll see the surgeon this week and we'll get a diagnosis. That's a pretty disappointing outcome."
McCabe is almost certain to miss Australia's next clash, against South Africa in Perth on September 6, and is in grave doubt for the rest of the Rugby Championship.
Wallabies hooker Nathan Charles is also in danger of being ruled out for the rest of the Rugby Championship after he suffered what McKenzie thought could be a pectoral injury in the Eden Park match.
Charles is the latest in a line of injured Wallabies hookers to be ruled out, with captain Stephen Moore injured in the first minute of his first Test as captain against France in June with a season-ending knee injury.
Tatafu Polota-Nau is also battling with a knee injury, while Tolu Latu broke his arm in a club match after being called into the Wallabies squad.
James Hanson, who replaced Charles on Saturday, is in line to make his first Test start against South Africa while Saia Fainga'a is set for a recall on the bench.
