The All Whites midfielder Tim Brown may be out of New Zealand's football World Cup campaign.
Brown's flown home to have surgery on the fractured shoulder he suffered in last night's 2-1 friendly loss to the Socceroos at the MCG.
So the All Whites fly out of Melbourne tonight for their high altitude base in Austria minus their vice-captain.
And it won't be known til after the operation whether Brown's still a chance for next month's tournament in South Africa.
But defender Ben Sigmund is confident about his All Whites and Phoenix team-mate's prospects.
Sigmund says Brown's tough and will make it to the World Cup.
All Whites coach Ricki Herbert says he's willing to give Brown until New Zealand's second group match against defending champions Italy to be available.
The injuries to Leo Bertos and Ivan Vicelich are minor.
