SYDNEY  - Australia's Rugby World Cup hopes have suffered a major setback after fullback Chris Latham seriously injured his knee in training, leaving him doubtful for the tournament.

Latham, who was officially named as Australia's best international player last season, tore his anterior cruciate ligament at a Queensland training session over the weekend.

He will require a full knee reconstruction, ruling him out of the entire Super 14 season and leaving him in a race against time to be ready for the World Cup, starting in France in early September.

"We haven't got the full picture yet," Australia coach John Connolly told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio on Monday.

"We have got six months, so we have to make sure we find the best rehab for him and get him back on deck but these things do take time.

"It happened on Saturday the day after he'd had a three-day camp at the AIS with us. We've got to get a full report out of it to understand exactly what happened."

Latham, 31, has been a key member of the Wallabies since making his test debut in 1998.

He is Australia's second highest tryscorer, behind David Campese, and holds the national record for the most tries in a single international after crossing five times in the Wallabies' 142-0 demolition of Namibia at the 2003 World Cup.