Already without Allan Alaalatoa, the Wallabies’ front-row stocks could be about to take another hit with Taniela Tupou in serious doubt to take on the Springboks in the Rugby Championship opener.

The Roar can reveal that Tupou suffered a toe injury during his encouraging performance in the Wallabies’ 22-12 win over the Lions in Sydney last Saturday.

It’s understood the 29-year-old wrecking ball hurt his toe when he burst onto a short ball early in the second half of the 10-point win.

The surge gave a glimpse into the hulking presence of Tupou in the loose despite the tight-head prop clumsily dropping the ball.

Tupou was penalised at the next scrum after suffering the minor injury.

Before then Tupou had ripped the Lions’ scrum to pieces as Andrew Porter’s technique was exposed by the sheer weight and size of his counterpart.

The Tongan Thor, who received a call-up to the national side following Alaalatoa’s shoulder injury in Melbourne, won a couple of penalties at the set-piece to help set up the Wallabies’ 8-0 half-time advantage.

The performance came off the back of showing glimpses of his best a week earlier for the First Nations and Pasifika clash, where former Wallabies great Toutai Kefu managed to unlock what few others have been able to achieve in recent years.

Taniela Tupou picked up a toe injury during his surge against the Lions at Accor Stadium. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

Sources have told The Roar that Tupou will likely be named in Joe Schmidt’s squad on Thursday for the first leg of The Rugby Championship, but it’s highly unlikely he will take the field in Johannesburg for the Wallabies’ tournament opener at Ellis Park.

It’s hoped that the 59-capped international will be back for the second Test in Cape Town.

The injury setback comes days after he made an emotional return to the international scene.

“It’s always an honour to be named in the Wallabies, to represent Australia. I was quite emotional when I sang the anthem,” Tupou told reporters following his successful return.

“And as you get older, these opportunities mean a lot more to you and you tend to think when you get older, ‘Oh man, one of these games could be the last’.

“So I was just soaking in the environment, the crowd and everything. It was it was pretty cool to be part of it. So delighted we won the game.”

The Racing 92-bound prop then made it unequivocally clear that he wanted to continue to play for the Wallabies despite signing with the French Top 14 outfit.

“I always make myself available for the Wallabies, whether I’m in France or wherever I am,” Tupou said.

“So if they need me, I’ll 100 per cent put my hands up.

“So hopefully this isn’t the last time. Hopefully there’s more to come.”

Will Skelton and Taniela Tupou made a huge difference for the Wallabies in the third Test against the Lions in Sydney. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

The gentle giant said the opportunity to play against the Lions, especially after his tumultuous season, was not lost on him.

“I’m glad I’m part of this one and part of a win against the Lions. There’s a lot of Wallabies legends who don’t get a chance to play against the Lions,” he said.

“We needed this win. We’ve been through a lot this week and the last few weeks and it’s good to be out there playing footy because for me I only played the (one) game.”

“I need to keep playing footy so this helps me. Hopefully I keep playing and who knows what happened in TRC, so fingers crossed.”

Should Tupou miss the first Test, it will deny the Wallabies their two best and most experienced tight-head props with Alaalatoa to the opening two Tests in South Africa.

“I’m hoping to be back at some stage throughout The Rugby Championship,” said Alaalatoa on Monday night after claiming the Brett Robinson Award as the Brumbies’ best in 2025.

“I’ll be back at Brums now rehabbing and spending a bit of time with the family.”

With rising talent Massimo De Lutiis still more than a month away, Schmidt will likely have to turn to Tom Robertson and Zane Nonggorr to pack down against the best scrum and most formidable tight five on the planet.

Whether another tight-head prop is taken over remains to be seen, with Rhys Van Nek playing for Australia in recent years.

Sam Talakai, the one Test Wallaby based in Glasgow, is another left-field option.

Schmidt could also lean on veteran James Slipper to switch sides if necessary, especially given one-Test All Blacks loose-head prop Aidan Ross is edging closer to making his Test debut after joining the squad last week.

The developments in the front-row come as hooker Dave Porecki announced his retirement effective immediately.

The former Wallabies captain was likely to miss the next month of action after suffering a nasty gash on his lower leg at training last week.

With Matt Faessler tweaking his calf last week, Schmidt will consider calling up another hooker to join Billy Pollard and Brandon Paenga-Amosa on the plane.

Reds hooker Josh Nasser would likely be the next cab off the rank, with Lachie Lonergan recently suffering an ACL injury.

As revealed on Monday, Tom Lynagh is likely to miss at least the first half of the tournament with Ben Donaldson set to be joined in South Africa by James O’Connor and Tane Edmed.

In better news, Skelton is expected to lend his weight in South Africa after Rugby Australia came to an arrangement with La Rochelle to keep the 33-year-old involved with the Wallabies for the trip to South Africa.

The giant lock’s U-turn comes after sitting down with Schmidt on Sunday.

Schmidt will name his Wallabies squad to take on the Springboks on Thursday.