The New South Wales Waratahs front-row stocks are in tatters after a serious injury to Wallabies prop Harry Johnson-Holmes left them down every full-time contracted front-rower.
Johnson-Holmes suffered a suspected ruptured Achilles tendon during their 29-21 loss to the ACT Brumbies on Saturday, a result which drops the Waratahs to last in the standings with three rounds remaining.
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The injury could rule the 27-year-old out for the remainder of the calendar year, adding to a mounting headache for the Waratahs, who are now without all seven of their contracted props because of injuries, and all four of their hookers after Hayden Thompson-Stringers MCL injury before the game.
Coach Darren Coleman must also release Pone Fa'amausili back to the Melbourne Rebels, after the Wallabies prop joined the Waratahs this week in Super Rugby's first-ever loan move.
Fa'amausili played in Saturday's defeat but was immediately recalled by the Rebels after their Test prop Taniela Tupou suffered a head knock early in a 26-22 loss to the Queensland Reds in Brisbane on Friday.
It continued a plague of injuries for front-rowers across several Super Rugby teams this season but Coleman said the Waratahs had reached a critical point.
"I don't know if there's any Super Rugby coach out there willing to lend us a prop, we'd definitely look at it," he told reporters after the match.
"I don't think any will be forthcoming. They've all got their own things to work on."
Coleman praised the group of inexperienced front-rowers who have filled gaps over the past month, describing them as "blokes who are on job sites".
Argentina international Enrique Pieretto has arrived in Sydney on a loan deal and should line up for the Waratahs in next week's critical match against the Western Force, where both Australian sides will try to keep their quarter-final hopes alive.
The Force thrashed the Fijian Drua 48-10 on Saturday -- the second-biggest win in their history -- to climb from last to ninth in the 12-team competition.
Meanwhile, the Queensland Reds suffered a blow which could have Wallabies implications when in-form back-rower Harry Wilson suffered a suspected broken arm against the Rebels.
Australia host two Tests against Wales in early July.
