Tune ruled out of world cup

Australia winger Ben Tune will miss the Rugby World Cup with a severe knee injury.

Tune will undergo surgery on both knees for patella tendonitis in a Melbourne hospital next week and could be out of action for up to five months.

“It was an incredibly hard decision to make,” said Tune. “I could have continued playing with my knee the way that it is but would have struggled to make an impact on the Wallabies.

“My best chance to get back to the sort of form that I and the coaching staff are happy with is to have this surgery.

“If everything goes to plan I should be ready for Super 12 pre-season training at the end of the year.”

The Wallaby winger, with 46 Test caps to his name, joins Stephen Larkham, Matt Giteau, Mat Rogers, Stirling Mortlock, Daniel Herbert, Andrew Walker and Matt Burke on a long injury list of players who will miss the Test against Ireland in Perth on June 7.

Burke was released from the squad on Tuesday to give him time to recover from an on-going knee ligament strain.