Australia's Israel Folau will be sidelined for three months, officials said Thursday as they confirmed he will need surgery for an ankle injury sustained during the Rugby World Cup. The fullback was relatively subdued in the latter stages of the tournament in England, which the All Blacks went on to win in the final against the Wallabies, after he injured an ankle in a pool game. The Australian Rugby Union said scans revealed the 26-year-old would require surgery for the injury, which saw him miss the Wallabies' quarter-final win over Scotland. Despite being hampered by the injury for most of the [Rugby World Cup], Folau ran for the most metres of any Wallabies player Australian Rugby Union "Despite being hampered by the injury for most of the tournament, Folau ran for the most metres of any Wallabies player and finished seventh overall with 366 metres gained over his six matches," the ARU said in a statement. Folau will complete his rehabilitation in Sydney ahead of the 2016 Super Rugby season, when he will once again be a key player for the NSW Waratahs, it added. Folau, a former rugby league international, has played 38 tests since making his debut in 2013. Later that year, with rugby league clubs reportedly circling in a bid to lure him back to the 13-man code, Folau agreed a new deal with the Waratahs and the Australian Rugby Union that contracted him to union until the end of 2015. After missing the Scotland game, Folau returned for the semi-final win over Argentina and the final loss to New Zealand. However, even in those games, he was missing the explosive acceleration and ability to barge through tackles that made him such a success in the Wallaby jersey since he switched to union. Folau will be racing the clock to be fit in time for the start of the Waratahs' Super Rugby campaign, which starts on February 27. But the Waratahs are hopeful Folau, who in 2015 claimed his second straight John Eales Medal for Australian rugby's player of the year, will complete his rehabilitation in time for the season kick-off The injury also saw Folau miss a lucrative stint in Japanese rugby.