George Smith’s hopes of playing for the Wallabies against the British and Irish Lions for a historic second time remain alive after scans on his knee revealed he could be back on the park within a month.
The news is even better for teammate and fellow Wallabies squad hopeful Pat McCabe, who could return in as little as two weeks after also hurting his knee in the Brumbies’ 28-22 loss to the NSW Waratahs on Saturday night.
Smith has been diagnosed with a grade-two medial ligament tear, meaning a best-case scenario could have the 110-Test veteran back playing within four weeks.
That would give the champion openside flanker a slim hope of returning for a second crack at the Lions in the first Test in Brisbane on June 22 and an even better chance of playing in the second Test in Melbourne on June 29.
The Brumbies opted against discussing Smith’s chances of a dream Wallabies return on Tuesday, only adding they were confident he would return to the Super Rugby fold for the July 13 final-round fixture against the Western Force in Perth.
Having competed at the top level for more than a decade, Smith has proven to be one of the competition’s most resilient players and this is one of just three lay-offs the classy No.7 has suffered.
“My priority from here is to rest, rehab and ensure my body is 100 per cent leading into the tail end of the Brumbies season,” Smith said in a statement released by the Brumbies.
“I’m confident of playing a further part in the Brumbies 2013 campaign.”
Meanwhile, scans showed no structural damage to McCabe’s knee and he could return for the Brumbies as early as the May 31 clash with the Hurricanes in Canberra.
It will give McCabe just enough time to impress Wallabies coach Robbie Deans for one of the final six squad spots to be announced on June 11 for the Lions series.
“It’s a bit hard to put a timeline at the moment,” McCabe said.
“It’s a matter of this swelling settling down and then I can start running and it won’t be much longer.
“I’m almost walking normally now.”
McCabe had extra cause to be pleased on Tuesday after announcing he had re-signed with the Brumbies and the Australian Rugby Union for a further two years.
Despite fierce competition in the Brumbies backline, resulting in the 18-Test Wallaby sitting most of the 2013 season on the bench, McCabe said he was never tempted to look to other clubs.
“For me, it was about where I was going to learn the most and improve the most and, with Stephen Larkham here and the backs we’ve got here, this was the place for me,” he said.
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