Brumbies hooker Josh Mann-Rea takes calculated risk

New Brumbies signing Josh Mann-Rea has undergone a controversial surgery procedure in a bid to keep his Super Rugby dream alive.

At the age of 31, Mann-Rea finally made a long overdue Super Rugby debut last season when he answered an injury SOS from the Waratahs.

The hooker went on to make two appearances for the outfit - doing enough to earn a place in the Brumbies' extended playing squad

However Mann-Rea, who played for Australia Under-21s alongside the likes of Matt Giteau, thought his hopes were over after he snapped his anterior cruciate ligament in training.

Mann-Rea, though, took a calculated gamble in having ligament augmentation and reconstruction system (LARS) surgery in a bid to speed up his return to action.

''It was the only option for me,'' Mann-Read told watoday.com.au. I thought personally, I couldn't afford to miss this whole season said.

''There a bit of controversy about it, but I definitely think it's a risk worth taking in my situation.

''If I miss the whole season, it could be the end of my career anyway.

''Hopefully I can be back in four months and only miss a few games at the start. The surgeon was confident with my knee and how it would respond to the LARS.''