Wallabies winger Sefa Naivalu is in doubt for August’s Bledisloe Cup opener after suffering a mid-range ankle syndesmosis injury.

Naivalu came off early in the second half of Australia’s scrappy win over Italy on Saturday, just minutes after scoring his second try of the match.

Coach Michael Cheika said he would miss up to seven weeks, ruling him out of the last fortnight of Super Rugby and putting him in a race against time to be fit for the clash against New Zealand in Sydney on August 19.