Chris Dutton - Canberra Times | August 10, 2009 - 11:57AM

Peter Kimlin insists the ACT Brumbies' French tour was a success despite returning to Canberra with a shoulder injury which could end his international season.

Kimlin could miss the remainder of the Wallabies' Tri Nations campaign and European spring tour if scans reveal serious nerve damage in his right shoulder.

A bruised and tired Brumbies outfit flew into the capital yesterday after its four-game trip to France.Kimlin injured his shoulder in a tackle in the Brumbies' 17-0 win against French champions Perpignan on July 31.

But the lock will not know how long he will be sidelined for until he has scans.

"At the moment I don't really know what the damage is until I get my results next Wednesday so I'll just have to wait and see," Kimlin said.

"It was pretty disappointing, I felt pretty good with my leg and even though it was my first game in six weeks I felt pretty good on the field as well.

"Hopefully it's not long-term damage and I don't miss too many games ... I try and take the best out of everything and this is the first time I've had back-to-back injuries in my career so I'll do the rehab and get back out there."

The 24-year-old made his Wallabies run-on debut against Italy in Canberra in June and is part of Robbie Deans's Tri Nations squad.

He missed the first two games of the Brumbies' tour after injuring his quad at Wallabies training last month.

The win over Perpignan was the Brumbies' sole victory on the trip, which also included games against Bourgoin-Jallieu, Bayonne and Toulon.

Kimlin was one of five injured players in the 28-strong squad.

Ankle syndesmosis will keep Alfi Mafi and Anthony Hegarty on crutches for the next four to six weeks, Sitaleki Timani has a grade one medial ligament tear and Uni-North Owls forward Tevita Metuisela has a season-ending knee injury.

Despite the casualty list, Kimlin said the trip was invaluable to the Brumbies' development.

Coach Andy Friend used the four games to test a variety of combinations for the next Super14 season. The trip gave Friend an opportunity to learn more about his fringe players.

"It was fantastic for experience and opportunity and it gave us a better idea of who can and who can't," Friend said.

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