Wallabies utility back Kurtley Beale will be out for at least four months after undergoing surgery to his left knee on Monday.

Beale was stretchered off in the first minute of the Waratahs’ Super Rugby match against the Bulls in Sydney on Saturday, after competing for a high ball shortly after kick-off and landing awkwardly.

It was initially thought Beale would be out of action for up to 12 months, but scans later revealed a less severe prognosis. He tore the patella tendon from the patella bone, but the tendon remained intact, and there was no other damage to the knee.

The surgery was successful, and Beale now faces a race to be fit to play for new club Wasps when the 2016-17 English Premiership gets underway in October.

The 27-year-old on Friday confirmed that he would be moving to the Premiership club at the end of the current Super Rugby season.

Photo: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images