Australia centre Stirling Mortlock has been ruled out of the test against Wales in November with a knee injury, the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) has announced.
Mortlock, a leading candidate to replace George Gregan as captain on the tour of Europe, faces six weeks on the sidelines after undergoing surgery on his knee cap.
"I got a knock during the last All Blacks match and I've just struggled to get on top of it," Mortlock said in a statement.
"I'm obviously disappointed that I won't be available for the first test but I felt that it was better to get the procedure done now so that the injury doesn't affect me throughout the tour."
Mortlock will travel to Europe with the Wallabies' 37-man squad on October 27th and hopes to be available for the test against Italy on November 11th.
"The aim is to be fit for the second test on the tour, against Italy," Mortlock said.
The Wallabies will then face Ireland at Lansdowne Road on November 19th.
Australia are due to announce their squad for the tour of Europe next Tuesday.
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