Blow for Izack Rodda as Rennie shakes up Wallabies squad for England Tests

Wallabies coach Dave Rennie admits he’ll need to re-think his overseas picks following the three Tests against England after revealing lock Izack Rodda faces up to three months on the sideline with a foot injury.

Rodda, a Test regular, had previously been confident he could feature in next month’s Tests against Eddie Jones’s touring side but the Western Force star is now likely to miss those and also the ensuing Rugby Championship.

Rennie named a 35-man squad on Sunday for the England series, with Japan-based trio Quade Cooper, Marika Koroibete and Samu Kerevi the three overseas selections Rennie is allowed under the Giteau Law.

But the coach acknowledged one of that trio could make way after the July series for one of France-based forwards Rory Arnold or Will Skelton to fill the void set to be left by Rodda.

“It is worse [than expected]; he could be out for as much as three months,” Rennie said of Rodda, who was among the Wallabies’ best last year.

“The issue [with selecting the France-based players to face England] is that they played quarter-finals overnight [and getting] clarity on when they’re available. It’s easier to leave those guys out of the England series and maybe have a look at it again post that.”

Rennie hinted a debut Test cap for former NRL star Suliasi Vunivalu was close and simply said he was “confident” the off-contract Queensland Reds winger would remain in Australian rugby beyond this season.

“We’ve picked him because of his massive potential and we think he can accelerate development inside the camp,” he said. “He’s had his troubles with injury – we’ve seen glimpses of real quality – we are just keen to get our hands on him.”

Rennie said versatile back Reece Hodge’s mixed form and “scratchy start to