Jordan Petaia has been ruled out of next week's Wallabies-Samoa Test after suffering an injury in training this week.
Petaia will be returning home from Australia's Noumea pre-World Cup camp on Wednesday after tweaking his hamstring attempting a diving tackle in training.
While officials are confident he will be fit for the World Cup, the Wallabies are taking the cautious route with the rising star given his injury-riddled recent history.
The youngster was a late withdrawal from Australia's team to take on Italy last year and missed almost the entire 2019 Super Rugby season with a Lisfranc injury.
The call to take the careful option with Petaia means he will almost certainly make his Wallabies debut at next month's Rugby World Cup.
Petaia is the only uncapped player in the Australian World Cup squad but it was expected he would have a run in the team's final pre-tournament Test against Samoa.
That possibility has been ruled out after this latest injury but Petaia is expected to be fully fit to play in the Rugby World Cup.
Winger Marika Koroibete arrived in camp on Tuesday night after staying back initially for family reasons while halfback Nick Phipps and prop Harry Johnson-Holmes are also set to fly in as train-on members of the squad this week.
The Wallabies have been training in the French territory since Saturday, with early wake-ups and hard days of training awaiting them, according to flanker Jack Dempsey.
"Very Michael Cheika-like and that's something I've been around ever since I started my professional career," he said.
"Definitely had a few hard camps but it's definitely right up there in terms of the intensity, the times we're getting up in the morning and by the time we're getting into bed, it's a lot of hours that we're putting into this and a lot of efforts.
"The difference is this time we're working towards a World Cup and that's something that gives you that little bit of a boost when you're out on the field and you're sucking in the big ones."
The Wallabies return to Sydney next week ahead of their September 7 Test against Samoa at Bankwest Stadium in Parramatta.
Australia takes on Samoa at Bankwest Stadium, Parramatta on Saturday September 7, kicking off at 7:30pm AEST, LIVE on Foxtel, Network Ten and via RUGBY.com.au RADIO. Buy tickets here.
