SYDNEY - Injured Wallabies wing Ben Tune has hinted that his top-level career may not be over despite knee surgery forcing him to miss Australia's World Cup defence.
Tune, a veteran of 46 tests and a member of the triumphant 1999 World Cup side, needs an operation to correct a chronicknee injury.
He will undergo patella tendon surgery in Melbourne on Monday and faces at least five months on the sidelines, ruling him out of the cup defence in October-November.
"It was an incredibly hard decision to make," Tune said. "I could have continued playing with my knee the way it is, but I would have struggled to make an impact on the Wallabies.
"My best chance to come back to the sort of form that I and the coaching staff are happy with is to have the surgery. If everything goes to plan I should be ready for the Super 12 pre-season training at the end of the year."
Tune is the eighth frontline back unavailable for the season-opening test against Ireland on June 7.
He joins Stephen Larkham, Matt Giteau, Mat Rogers, Stirling Mortlock, Daniel Herbert, Andrew Walker and Matt Burke as players to miss the Perth test.
