Rising Wallabies star Rob Horne's World Cup dreams are hanging by a thread after it was revealed the talented youngster could be sidelined until June following elbow surgery.
The injury-plagued centre played six Tests for the Wallabies this season after making his long awaited international debut against Fiji.
But just as the 21-year-old's luck looked to have changed, a season-ending injury to his right elbow suffered against the All Blacks in July left his immediate Test future in severe doubt.
Horne, who has been plagued by hamstring and groin injuries since bursting on to the Super rugby scene as an 18-year-old, completed the Waratahs' first official pre-season fitness session under the guidance of former Olympic sprinter Matt Shirvington on Monday.
But although he moved freely throughout the gruelling workout, coach Chris Hickey confirmed Horne may be forced to watch the bulk of the 2011 Super Rugby season from the sideline.
"It was a fairly serious injury and unusual surgery that needed to be done," Hickey said.
"The medical advice is that he could be right by February but it could take until June."
"It's one of those things that we're not really going to know until February."
If Horne is sidelined until June his hopes of forcing his way into Robbie Deans' 30-man World Cup squad will be slim at best.
A June return would leave him only a handful of provincial games to press his claims for the four-match Tri Nations campaign beginning in July.
And with Brumbies utility Adam Ashley-Cooper having excelled in the No.13 jersey since taking over, Horne would likely have to rely on injury to reclaim his starting spot if selected in the Wallabies squad.
Meanwhile, Horne's possible absence could be good news for Waratahs recruit Ryan Cross who returns to his home state following a four-year stint with the Western Force.
The former Sydney Roosters centre is the obvious choice at outside centre for the Waratahs if Horne is unavailable.
And the opportunity to feature in a star-studded backline and potentially force his way back into Wallabies calculations is not lost on the 31-year-old.
"Obviously he (Horne) had a good year last year and he was the Wallabies 13 before he got injured, so that's a spot I'll look at," Cross said.
"Obviously the backline was pretty strong last year so there's going to be a bit of competition for spots but hopefully I can just train well and hopefully find a spot."
"I played a lot of 12 last year and obviously I can play 13, so anywhere I can fit in will be good."
"As long as you're in a team going well I don't think it matters (what position you play), so hopefully I can get in there somewhere ... hopefully we can play well and that's why I came back, to win a comp."
In other injury news, Hickey expects the bulk of his squad, including Wycliff Palu (knee) and Tatafu Polota-Nau (ankle) to be available for the opening round of the competition.
"They're both completing rehabilitation phases of their training and in the next week or two they'll both be fully able to partake of the pre-season program and by February they'll be fully fit and ready to play," Hickey said of the Wallabies duo.
Skipper Phil Waugh (knee) is also expected to resume training in the coming weeks while veteran prop Al Baxter (neck) trained with the squad on Monday having been cleared by his specialist last month.
