Kangaroos lose Mitchell Moses for the rest of the World Cup; Ethan Strange called into squad

Australia halfback Mitchell Moses will miss the rest of the men’s Rugby League World Cup with a high-grade muscle tear in his lower leg, the NRL said in a media release on Saturday 17 October.

Moses was injured in the first half of Australia’s 24-22 win over New Zealand at Allianz Stadium, Sydney, on Thursday 15 October. He played on and left the field less than two minutes into the second half, the NRL said. An MRI scan in Sydney found the tear. Canberra Raiders five-eighth Ethan Strange will replace him in the 23-man squad, the release said.

Coach Kevin Walters said in the release that Moses “is naturally disappointed at the outcome today and the fact that he tried to stay out there when he was clearly injured shows just what it means to him to represent his country and play in the Kangaroos jersey.”

After Thursday’s match, Walters told reporters that Sam Walker would play halfback against Fiji, with Tom Dearden, who replaced Moses during the game, at five-eighth. “He’ll play next week. We’ll put him alongside Tom who will play five eighth,” Walters said, Fox Sports reported. Walters also said James Tedesco would play fullback instead of Reece Walsh. NRL.com reported on Monday that the match will be Walker’s international debut.

Dearden told NRL.com: “The most important thing for us is to work out our combination. We’ll get some reps together at training and be ready to go against Fiji.”

Next (GMT, official schedule): Australia play Fiji at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, on Sunday 25 October at 9:05am. Fiji beat the Cook Islands 40-12 on Sunday.