The Waratahs have confirmed captain Jake Gordon is set to spend up to a month on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.
Gordon was a late withdrawal from last week's win over the Western Force, picking up the injury mid-week before eventually being ruled out on the day.
After undergoing scans, the club confirmed their captain will likely miss 2-4 weeks as he begins rehabilitation.
“He’ll be two-to-four (weeks) unfortunately. He’ll be in rehab and that’s probably the best (timeframe) depending on how he reacts to treatment in the next couple of days,” assistant coach Chris Whittaker confirmed.
“He’s in good spirits this morning. He might not have known the extent before the scans. I think everyone is nervous (with hamstring injuries) when you start moving in case you do it again.
“We have full confidence he will back sooner rather than later.”
Gordon's absence paved the way for Jack Grant to once again start, producing arguably his best performance at Super Rugby level in the victory over the Force.
He set up the second try with a great ball to Will Harrison as the Waratahs raced out to an early lead, with Whittaker most pleased with his rapid pace at ruck-time.
“I thought Jack was outstanding,” the former Waratahs halfback said about the current.
“It’s a tough situation for Jack having the skipper in front of him and getting opportunities, they’re few and far between. We probably haven’t seen the best of him until the game on the weekend, he was probably trying to play within himself and to the team structure but I think on the weekend we saw how good he can be.
“He’s good with fast ball and shifted it well, a couple of times even without cleanout that I think suited our style in the first 40 minutes.
“We were playing very up-tempo (in the first half) and that was down to his good service and speed around the field.”
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Grant looks set to retain the starting spot as the Waratahs welcome the Rebels to the SCG.
The 28-year-old enters 2022 with a greater sense of confidence after a tough introduction to Super Rugby last year, relishing the chance to play in front of a much-improved pack.
“I definitely feel more confident. I think you get that through experience and the experiences last year gave me a fair bit of confidence,” Grant added.
“I’m looking forward to building on that and playing a couple more games.
“(The improvements) have come across the team. When you are a halfback and the team isn't going forward, it’s hard to play good footy but we’ve been able to rectify that so hopefully that continues.
