Wallabies star David Pocock has been cleared of a serious knee injury but will still spend four to six weeks on the Super Rugby sidelines with a medial ligament strain.

Pocock limped off the field early in the Western Force's 39-12 loss to the Sharks on Saturday night and was put in a leg brace after the match as a precaution.

But fears that Pocock could be out for a much longer stint were allayed on Monday when scans cleared the 22-year-old of any serious structural damage to his right knee.

The news would come as a relief to Wallabies coach Robbie Deans, who is counting on a fit and firing Pocock to help lead Australia to success at this year's World Cup.

But it could prove to be a costly injury for the Force, who are yet to win after two games and rely heavily on Pocock's ball-pilfering skills and physicality around the field.

Outside centre Mitch Inman is also set to miss four to six weeks after dislocating his elbow in the same game.

Pocock will wear a brace for an estimated three weeks while Inman will be forced to keep his elbow immobilised for at least a week.

"It's disappointing to lose David as he is clearly one of the best players in his position in the world," Force coach Richard Graham said.

"We're fortunate, however, that the diagnosis means a relatively short time out of action.

"It certainly could have been much worse.

"During the period David is unavailable we can look to the quality and depth we have in our backrow stocks, with Richard Brown, Ben McCalman and Matt Hodgson giving an excellent balance to that area of the ground."

Graham was also thankful Inman would be able to return this season.

"It was really a bizarre injury and not something you often see in a tackle," Graham said.

"As with David, Mitch's injury could have been more severe.

"Our medical team were outstanding and reacted quickly to address the situation and put the joint back in place."

The Force will monitor Willie Ripia this week in the hope that the New Zealand five-eighth can return from a niggling foot injury in time for Saturday night's clash with the Blues in Perth.

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