ROSARIO, Argentina - The weary Wallabies' deep injury woes have lifted slightly in a much-needed boost for the weekend's tournament-ending clash with a hungry Argentina.
With more than a star-studded starting 15 already on the sidelines, Australia are expecting some relief on the injury front with powerful trio Digby Ioane, Tatafu Polota-Nau and Radike Samo all set for action in Rosario.
Winger Ioane (knee), hooker Polota-Nau (head, shoulder) and No.8 Samo (shoulder) all suffered painful blows in the second-half of last weekend's 31-8 hammering by South Africa.
The trio — arguably the Wallabies most destructive ball-runners — had initially been in serious doubt for their first Rugby Championship visit to South America but coach Robbie Deans reported yesterday all were recovering well and should be available.
"There's a couple with niggles but nothing that should rule them out of selection," said Deans, who badly needs a backs-to-the-wall victory to take the heat off his position.
"We're hopeful and that is the expectation of the medical staff, that they will all be okay, but obviously we will know more as we start to move.
"It should be clear by Thursday."
Deans will also have centre Anthony Faingaa (cleared of concussion) available to slot into the midfield but he does have dilemmas in naming his starting 15 on Thursday. The dual loss of Berrick Barnes and Adam Ashley-Cooper leaves a vacancy at fullback that he is unlikely to fill with new squad addition Luke Morahan, who only arrived in Rosario yesterday.