Wallabies lose backrower Ben McCalman to injury

Backrower Ben McCalman will miss the third Test against England, and the rest of the Super Rugby season.

Wallabies backrower Ben McCalman will be sidelined for four to six weeks with a shoulder injury.

McCalman sustained a small fracture to his scapula after he came on as a replacement in the Wallabies’ 23-7 loss to England in the second Test in Melbourne last Saturday night.

He was injured in his first involvement in the game, but played on because the Wallabies had run out of reserves.

McCalman will miss the Western Force’s last three Super Rugby games, but will be available for the Wallabies for the Rugby Championship in August/September.

Queensland Reds openside flanker Liam Gill and No 8 Leroy Houston are in line to replace McCalman on the Wallabies’ bench for the third Test against England in Sydney on Saturday night.

McCalman will likely be the only forced change to the Wallabies side for the third Test, although coach Michael Cheika is eyeing other potential reshuffles as he bids to avoid a 3-0 series whitewash.

“We’ll probably make a couple of changes,” he said on the ARU website. “I thought I might make a couple each game just to have a look at guys who have shown, either through Super Rugby or through the series, they’re vying for spots. We’ll sort those out over the next day or so.”

The Wallabies committed a multitude of handling errors, many in strong attacking positions, as England triumphed 23-7 in the second Test last weekend.

It followed the well-drilled and motivated Six Nations champions, coached by Australian Eddie Jones, ambushing the Wallabies 39-28 in the first Test in Brisbane a week earlier.

Additional reporting: AAP