Higginbotham to miss Lions series

Rebels and Wallaby loose forward Scott Higginbotham has been ruled out of playing in the British & Irish Lions test series with a serious shoulder injury.

Higginbotham’s shoulder was injured in a tackle against the Reds last weekend, and will sit out of the remainder of the Super Rugby tournament and international season in 2013.

“Scans revealed extensive ligament damage, which meant a full shoulder reconstruction is required,” said the ARU.

“The rehabilitation timelines are such that he is not expected to be fit to return to play until the start of next year’s Super Rugby competition.”

Wallaby coach Robbie Deans still has a number of strong loose forwards in the set-up, with the liked of Ben McCalman, Ben Mowen, Wycliff Palu, Liam Gill, Michael Hooper and Dave Dennis in the squad.

Source: ARU