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Sydney - Wallabies loosehead prop Benn Robinson has decided to forego surgery on his injured knee in a risky gamble at being able to play in this year's World Cup, Australia coach Robbie Deans said on Tuesday.
Robinson, one of the world's leading players in his position, damaged his anterior cruciate ligament in training last week to cast a shadow over his country's Tri-Nations and World Cup hopes.
"Robbo isn't going to proceed with this operation," Deans told a news conference at the team's training camp.
"His knee is remarkably stable for an ACL injury so he's opted to give it a go...
"To put it in perspective, it's a low percentage success rate if we base it on history, so I wouldn't be jumping through hoops yet."
The New Zealander said that to his knowledge only one player had played a test with an ACL injury before and it "had not been a great experience".
"He finished the job, so to speak," said Deans. "But that was in midfield so Robbo's going to have to park his sidestep for a while."
Robinson, who was replaced in the squad by Pek Cowan, will join the Wallabies in Queensland before their final Tri-Nations Test against the All Blacks in Brisbane on August 27.
"It's great he's decided to give it a go but we're not jumping over the moon yet because he's got a lot of work to do yet," Deans added.
The World Cup, hosted by New Zealand, kicks off on September 9 with Australia opening their campaign two days later against Italy in Auckland.
