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Injured trio add to Wallabies' woes
THE Wallabies face injury dramas ahead of their next Tri-Nations clash against the Springboks, with back-rower Richard Brown damaging his foot, concerns about the fitness of centre Berrick Barnes and Rocky Elsom still sidelined.
X-rays last night cleared Brown of a break but he will have more scans after being forced from the field in Saturday's 22-16 loss to the All Blacks at Eden Park.
He will be closely monitored by Wallabies medical staff ahead of the clash with South Africa in Cape Town on August 8. Barnes also made an early exit on Saturday with a similar hip flexor injury to that suffered by five-eighth Matt Giteau, while second-rower James Horwill broke his nose.
"Barnesy is the most clouded, but hopefully none of those will be long-term,'' coach Robbie Deans said of the trio.
Dynamic No.6 Elsom is not expected to be fit for the Springboks as he continues to recover from bone bruising at the top of his tibia.
"It is very unlikely we will be in a position to consider him for Cape Town,'' Deans said.
Prop Al Baxter will study video of the defeat to ensure there is no repeat of Saturday's fiasco in which he constantly earned the wrath of referee Craig Joubert.
After establishing himself as one of the game's premier props over the past 18 months, Baxter suddenly found himself on the wrong end of a series of bewildering penalties, inevitably copping the blame at scrum time.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/spo...-1225751991809
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