Wycliff Palu's World Cup has been ended by injury © Getty Images

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Wallabies head coach Robbie Deans has revealed that No.8 Wycliff Palu has been ruled out of the rest of the World Cup with a hamstring strain.

Palu aggravated an existing problem in last week's 67-5 victory over the United States and, after scans revealed that he will be out of action for six weeks, he is already on his way back to Australia.

"It's bad luck for Wycliff," Deans said. "Unfortunately his previous history of injury in this area has impacted, in terms of lengthening the timelines that are required for his rehabilitation."

And Palu admitted that he feared the worst right away. "When I first did it - I have done that hamstring so many times - I knew I would probably be on the plane back home," the 29-year-old back-rower said.

"After the weekend I feel the group has come together at the right time and that's going to be the hardest bit for me: not being part of it and being part of the journey. The other players have been really good. The other night we had a lot of knocks and that has brought us all tighter."

Deans subsequently revealed that he will take his time before deciding upon a replacement for Palu and may even wait until after this weekend's final pool game, against Russia, before calling anyone up.

The Wallabies currently have a number of players sidelined through injury but there was some good news on Tuesday with confirmation that lock Dan Vickerman (leg), wing Digby Ioane (thumb), fullback Kurtley Beale (hamstring) and centre Pat McCabe (shoulder) should all be available for the quarter-finals. In addition, Anthony Faingaa, who took a heavy knock to his head against the USA, could feature against the Russians. However, Rob Horne (fractured cheekbone) is expected to be sidelined for at least another fortnight.