Wallabies lineout chief Dan Vickerman could have played his last Test for Australia as he battles a shoulder injury ahead of the final Tri-Nations match in two weeks' time.
Vickerman injured the shoulder late in the first half of last Saturday's win over the Springboks in Durban and returned home early this week.
He has been plagued by shoulder problems and missed the entire 2007 Super 14 season after a reconstruction.
The combative lock declined to renew his contract with Australian rugby this year and was expected to begin studying at university in England after the Tri-Nations series, which will be decided when Australia host the All Blacks in Brisbane on September 13.
The 29-year-old hasn't ruled out returning to Australian rugby at a later stage.
Wallabies officials have been eagerly awaiting details of Vickerman's latest injury, with coach Robbie Deans only able to say this week it was a "grade three".
Centre Berrick Barnes, who also has a shoulder injury, returned home with Vickerman with Deans saying he was far more optimistic the Queenslander would play at Suncorp Stadium.
"I don't think he's that bad," Deans said.
"We're hoping he's not as bad (as Vickerman) but the only potential sinister thing there is a potential fracture.
"We'll get that cleared so we'll have clarity as to the likely length of his lay-off.
"Hopefully he will be a possibility before our next encounter, who knows?"
Vickerman played his 55th Test in Durban after injury had restricted him to only two other appearances this international season, both against New Zealand.
Raised in Cape Town, his fate as a Wallaby was sealed in 2002 when he was selected from the Brumbies for Australia A and he made his Test debut later that year.
Springboks forwards coach Gary Gold said Vickerman reminded him of his own champion lock, Victor Matfield.
"I think when he left South Africa he was a massive loss to South Africa and a huge gain for Australia," Gold told AAP today.
"He's one of the unique type of locks as a five lock, he's very much in the Victor Matfield mould where he just has an uncanny knack for reading the lineouts and being very good at it.
"He's had a fantastic Test career and I think he'll be sorely missed in Australia."
In the realm of hypotheticals though, the South Africans aren't sure Vickerman and Matfield would ever have played together as a dream-team second row.
"I wouldn't have foreseen that he would have played with Victor because I don't think anybody in their right mind would leave Bakkies Botha out," Gold said.
"It's impossible to tell, it may have been a fantastic rotation policy with the three of them should Dan have stayed in South Africa, but he didn't.
"We're very blessed in South Africa, we've got some fantastic second-rowers. Dan's a fantastic player but we're very, very lucky. We were able to in 2007 win a World Cup without him and in 2004 win a Tri-Nations without him."
