Australia coach Tim Walsh has confirmed Demi Hayes will likely miss the Paris Olympics as they prepare to deal with the pool stages of Perth without Maddison Levi.
Hayes suffered a long-term ACL injury during their quarter-final win against Ireland in Cape Town.
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The Triple Crown winner underwent surgery at the end of last year, with the team not expecting Hayes to feature for the rest of the World Series and July's Olympics.
“Demi’s handled it remarkably well and so has the team. Demi adds value on and off the field, she’s still going to have a very important role.” Walsh said to Rugby.com.au
“We’re a team that everybody has a role and has a piece of the puzzle that adds value and are valued. We’re all very emotional and disappointed for Demi. She’s right now doing recovery and trying to get herself back on the field whenever that is.
“It is 'expect the worst, hope for the best' and she’s just preparing to get healthy and get playing whenever that may be."
There is a history of Sevens players returning from ACL injury for the Olympics, with Gemma Etheridge returning in time for Rio. However, Walsh concedes Hayes has a long way to go.
"There’s returning to play and returning to perform when you’re going to the world’s greatest sporting event and playing for one of the best teams in a very highly athletic game," he added.
They will also be without Maddison Levi for the group stages after her red card in the Final.
Levi was sent off towards the end of the first half against France, receiving a three-match ban.
“We have a really good lawyer (team manager) Scott Bowen, we call him Dennis Denuto from The Castle,” Walsh said with a smile.
For Walsh and the Australians, the opening two events are proof anything can happen on the Sevens circuit.
“It’s good preparation because the unpredictability of sport delivers different scenarios that you probably can’t plan for as much as you want to," Walsh believes.
“We have a philosophy in this team we don’t ever want to be cramming. That causes anxiety so we want to be the best prepared team and we know that it’ll deliver elite consistency.
“We sit in a room and talk about different scenarios but a 22-0 lead into a red card wasn’t one of those scenarios."
