The Waratahs’ difficult start to 2024 has continued, with up-and-coming loose-head prop Tom Lambert likely to miss at least the first month of the Super Rugby season.

The Roar can reveal the 23-year-old, who was called into the Wallabies squad last year during the Bledisloe Cup series, suffered a meniscus injury at training.

Informed sources said the injury is likely to see him miss up to three months, having had surgery earlier in the week after hurting his knee in a rolling maul.

While the Waratahs recruited Hayden Thompson-Stringer and Tom Ross to add some depth to their front-row stocks, the loss of Lambert is bigger than meets the eye.

Watch every match of Super Rugby Pacific ad-free, live & on demand on the Home of Rugby, Stan Sport.

With Angus Bell set to start at loose-head prop, it’s believed head coach Darren Coleman was viewing Lambert as his deputy and moving Thompson-Stringer across to the tight-head side.

Those plans have now been halted after the young prop, who was forced to carry a heavy load in his first season last year after Bell’s season-ending injury in the first match, went down.

After last weekend’s concerning defeat to the Reds in Roma, the Waratahs were battered and bruised after the second half turned into a scrum fest.

Locks Jed Holloway and Miles Amatosero were two that came away with corks.

The Waratahs will play largely a second-string side against a combined Warringah Rats and Manly Marlins side on Saturday evening to wrap up their preparations ahead of next week’s season opener against the Reds in Brisbane.

But the match could see incumbent Wallabies captain Dave Porecki and World Cup squad member Max Jorgensen return.

The duo were put through their paces on Thursday and if they pull up well from the training hit out, they could return to finetune themselves ahead of next week’s derby.

Victory is essential for the Waratahs first up, with Coleman’s men to take on the three New Zealand sides – the Crusaders away and Highlanders and Blues at home – in the opening month.

They then have the difficult assignment of taking on Mick Byrne’s Drua side in Fiji.

It’s been widely reported that the Waratahs, who are now owned by Rugby Australia, will make a call on whether to extend Coleman’s contract beyond this year by the end of March.

Meanwhile, Reds young gun Harry McLaughlin-Phillips is favoured to make his debut in the No.10 jersey against the Waratahs next week.

With James O’Connor on the comeback trail from another hamstring injury, Lawson Creighton struggling in his first trial and Tom Lynagh only recently returning from an injury, the 19-year-old looks set to be backed by the Reds coaching staff after a confident display in Roma last weekend.

The Junior Wallabies playmaker, who has tried to implement elements of Finn Russell and Dan Carter’s game into his own, said he felt confident to make his Super Rugby debut if handed the keys by new coach Les Kiss.

“There’s four of us gunning for the same position so everyone’s put their best foot forward this pre-season so now it’s up to the coaches to make a decision,” McLaughlin-Phillips told media on Thursday.

“I’m ready and I think Tom’s ready – he played well in his comeback from his injury – and Lawson’s obviously shown that he can do very well in that position.

“So yeah, I think I’m ready and the other three are all gunning as well.”