ROCKY Elsom might not play for the Wallabies until halfway through the Tri-Nations series because of complications with what at first seemed an innocuous knee injury.
Informed sources have told The Australian the swelling on Elsom's knee, the injury that forced his withdrawal from the Barbarians side that played the Wallabies last Saturday, is more serious than first thought.
An initial scan taken in Dublin after his man-of-the-match performance for Leinster in its Heineken Cup final victory over Leicester on May 23 did not detect any major damage, prompting Elsom to ignore the deep-seated pain to play for the Barbarians in their stunning victory over England at Twickenham a week later.
With the benefit of hindsight, it seems that playing in that match may have compounded the problem and significantly extended Elsom's stint on the sideline.
Indications are it will be four to eight weeks before the dynamic 26-year-old blindside flanker will be able to resume running. A worst-case scenario would make it unlikely he would be considered for selection before the Wallabies' third match of the series, against the All Blacks in Sydney on August 22.
Even a best-case scenario would see him missing not just tomorrow's opening Test of the Wallabies' 2009 campaign, against Italy in Canberra but also the second Test against the Azzurri in Melbourne on June 20, the Test against France in Sydney on June 27 and, most likely, the first Tri-Nations fixture, against the All Blacks in Auckland on July 18.
Ironically, Elsom was in Melbourne yesterday as a guest of the Victorian government to help promote next week's Test against Italy, a match the Wallabies initially were hoping he would figure in quite prominently.
From having an embarrassment of riches at blindside flanker little over a month ago, the Wallabies now find themselves stretched thin, having lost Hugh McMeniman, Matt Hodgson and now Elsom to injury.
Dean Mumm will cover the position tomorrow against the Italians, with specialist lock Peter Kimlin providing back-up, but any further casualties and the Australian selectors might need to bring in Brumbies number six Mitchell Chapman or rising NSW backrower Ben Mowen.
While Elsom declined to comment on a timeframe for his return, he did reveal what Melburnians had been hoping to hear, that his contract with the Brumbies is for one year, with a further one-year option.
That means he has built in an escape hatch from Canberra should he want to return to Melbourne - which he left when he was 10 - in the event of the city being awarded the Super 15 expansion team.
Elsom already is being touted as a possible foundation captain of the new team, but the man himself isn't making any promises.
"I think I've got to think of the Brumbies at the very least as least a two-year option - that's the way I see it at the moment, at least," Elsom said yesterday after appearing in a Test promotion with one of the strongest advocates of the Melbourne bid, Victorian Sports Minister James Merlino.
Elsom watched last Saturday's match at the Sydney Football Stadium through Barbarian eyes from the sideline and couldn't help but be impressed by the way his teammates were run ragged by the Wallabies and relentlessly pressured into mistakes.
"It's hard for me to say exactly how the Wallabies have come on since last year, but looking at the game, the difference between the Barbarians side that played Australia and the one that played England a week earlier is that the team last Saturday was put under constant pressure by the Wallabies," Elsom said.
"They couldn't put a ball into touch, they couldn't rest for a minute at any stage and they were forced to run all over the pitch."
There were some defensive lapses from the Barbarians, Elsom admitted, but most of them were caused by mismatches, with tight forwards being called on to defend against Australia's electrifying backs. "The fact they were defending against backs was because they had been run around so much and didn't have time to regroup.
"I don't think there is anything different about the Wallabies' philosophy or team pattern but what did stand out to me was the speed with which they played," Elsom said.
