Len Ikitau injury confirmed after Wallabies loss, Rugby World Cup selection in doubt

The Wallabies had a disappointing 34-31 Rugby Championship defeat to Argentina in Sydney on Saturday night, and copped a further blow with Ikitau injuring his shoulder in the opening minutes after scoring a try.

The ACT Brumbies star fought through 17 minutes on the field but was forced off, clearly in discomfort.

He had scans at hospital, and on Sunday it was confirmed he had suffered a fractured scapula.

The Wallabies estimated his recovery time to take between six to eight weeks, which puts Ikitau's World Cup in serious doubt.

The earliest the 24-year-old can get healthy on that timeline would be late August, allowing him a few extra weeks to build up his match fitness for the World Cup.

But if Ikitau needs the maximum to recover, he won't be fit to play until about September 9, the same day as the Wallabies' World Cup opener against Georgia in Saint-Denis.

Ikitau has become a regular inclusion in the Wallabies side of late with 28 Tests to his name. He survived the coaching changes and recent ups and downs for the national team, which puts him in a strong position to still be in the World Cup squad despite the injury.

Meanwhile, Brumbies playmaker Noah Lolesio has finalised a deal to play in France to get more game time and to keep him on Wallabies coach Eddie Jones' radar.

The temporary deal will run during the Super Rugby off-season before he returns to the Brumbies for the last year of his contract.

Jones said after the Argentina match he was "disappointed" to see Ikitau injured, however he had a glass-half-full view of the tough situation.

With no outside backs on the bench, Reds youngster Carter Gordon was thrown in the deep end at No.12 and Samu Kerevi shifted wide as a result of Ikitau's injury, which tested the Wallabies' chemistry.

Though the Wallabies failed to regain the momentum they had early in the game after Ikitau departed, Jones encouraged the team to learn from the experience.

"It created an opportunity for us to learn a little bit more about ourselves," Jones said in his post-match press conference.

"It's a great opportunity for Carter to play 12, and at some stage in his career, he's going to play 12."

While Wallabies fans were devastated by the loss to Argentina, Jones wasn't wilting under the pressure, and fired a warning shot to their rugby rivals, telling media he was "100 per cent confident" they can still win the World Cup.

"At the moment, it seems like we're miles away from where we need to be. But all this is going to make us harder and more hungry to get it right," Jones said.

"We're a team that needs to change. We know that, and that's the reason I'm here in the job.

"We're not seeing the change in terms of results, but we will see that."

Jones complimented the Wallabies' fight to stay in the game, and their set piece.

"We're a bit like a broken car," he said.

"I remember my first car was a Datsun 1200 - you'd fix the handbrake and the next day the windscreen wipers would break and we're a bit like that moment.

"This is a process we've got to go through. As painful as it is and as hard as it is ... we'll keep working on it and we'll get it right."

Wallabies co-captain James Slipper agreed if they can be better disciplined, and make "minor changes" they can improve significantly to become world-beaters.

"Whilst it seems like it's doom and gloom at the moment, it's not," Jones said.

"There's a fair bit of optimism that we'll be able to change fairly quickly in the next couple of weeks.

"If I was the All Blacks I'd look out."

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