Australia full-back Chris Latham is a major doubt for this year's World Cup in France after tearing an anterior cruciate ligament in his knee during a Queensland Reds training session on Saturday.
The 31-year-old has been ruled out for the entire Super 14 season and he will undergo a knee reconstruction in the next few weeks.
Latham, the second highest tryscorer in Wallabies history behind David Campese with 31 international tries, has made 72 appearances for Australia and played in both the 1999 and 2003 World Cup finals.
Latham, Australia's player of the season last year, is still hoping to be ready for the World Cup, starting in early September.
"Like everything in my career I've thankfully found the positive side to it all," he said. "I've just come off two of my best seasons I've ever had so the confidence is definitely there and now my body's going to be in the best shape it's ever been.
"The whole negative thing to this is missing a full season of the Reds, that's very disheartening . . . but in saying this, this is a World Cup year and this is the year I really wanted to make sure that I showcased my skills on the world stage.
"I'm going to be the in the best shape come that, so that's a positive to me."
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