The Queensland Reds fear they may have lost jinxed Wallabies forward Hugh McMeniman for the bulk of the Super 14 season after a bruising 23-18 loss to the Hurricanes.

The injury-plagued McMeniman sustained a worrying high ankle strain and wore the look of a man expecting the worst in the Wellington carnage.

It was an all-too-familiar blow for the Reds and the rugged flanker who suffered the very same "syndesmosis" injury in the corresponding round two match in New Zealand last season.

The only difference there, McMeniman went down in the dying stages as the Reds fell 33-22 to the Crusaders in Christchurch whereas he was injured in the night's early skirmishes at Westpac Stadium.

The injury ruined his 2007 campaign, forcing him to miss the next nine weeks of action, and also plagued him after his return.

McMeniman was set to be X-rayed on Saturday in Brisbane but Reds coach Phil Mooney was braced for some bitter news.

"It doesn't look good," Mooney told AAP. "It's some sort of high ankle strain and they could be anything."

The 200cm-tall 24-year-old has endured a nightmare injury run since breaking into the Reds team in 2005, with shoulder, neck, ankle and quad problems restricting his football.

He was being treated by medics as veteran lock Van Humphries defied his years and size to brush past four defenders to score the opening try in the 14th minute for a 10-0 lead.

McMeniman had spoken about Queensland's need to discover a ruthless streak on the eve of the match but could only watch as the Hurricanes worked their way back to 13-10 down at halftime.

Luck did go against the Reds with a Jimmy Gopperth clearance kick taking a freak bounce for Hosea Gear to pounce and set up a long-range Hurricanes try for centre Tane Tu'ipulotu.

The home side had been their own worst enemy early with a series of dropped balls but they started to dominate just before half-time as stand-out winger Ma'a Nonu regularly cut the defence to shreds.

It was Nonu who broke the game open at 13-13 midway through the second half when Piri Weepu ripped the ball from Reds prop Greg Holmes to spark a superb 80m counter-attack finished by the dreadlocked Nonu.

"That was a pretty crucial moment, it possibly could have been a try for us and we've conceded one," lamented Mooney.

Although the Reds looked dead in the water, they hung in for a late try to skipper John Roe to ensure a bonus point as some consolation in their 20th loss from 21 games in NZ dating back to 2000.

"I was very proud of the effort, and if anything we dispelled any myths about our conditioning," Mooney said.

"We put ourselves under a lot of pressure with turnovers and penalties so we had to defend a lot but it was a great effort at the end to be full of running.

"A little bit more control and a little bit more ruthlessness and that was a game that we could have won."

In a game where the Hurricanes enjoyed a significant territorial and possession advantage, fullback Chris Latham's huge kicking game repeatedly got the Reds out of trouble.

McMeniman was joined in the casualty ward by halfback Sam Cordingley (groin), while props Rodney Blake and Dayna Edwards finished with minor foot problems and playmaker Berrick Barnes (flu) was spelled early.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP