The All Blacks will be without captain Ardie Savea and vice-captain Luke Jacobson for their Bledisloe Cup Tests against the Wallabies.
Coach Dave Rennie does, however, expect several injured players to return.
Rennie confirmed after Sunday’s defeat by the Springboks in Baltimore that Savea and Jacobson will miss the two Tests against Australia in October, while centre Anton Lienert-Brown is facing a spell on the sidelines after suffering a knee injury in Baltimore.
However, the All Blacks are set to welcome back lock Scott Barrett and winger Leicester Fainga’anuku, while centre Quinn Tupaea and flank Anton Segner are also expected to be available.
“Yeah, we’ll pick a squad of 34. We’ve already had a little bit of a think around what that might look like, knowing that Luke and Ardie, those sorts of guys, will be out,” said Rennie.
“Not sure. It’s a little MCL issue,” Rennie said when asked about Lienert-Brown’s injury. “We will find out whether there’s anything else there as well, so it’s not an ACL, which is good.”
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Rennie did, however, offer some encouraging news on several players who have been sidelined.
“So Scott Barrett should be back in time for that as well, and people like Leicester Fainga’anuku … So you know, we’ve lost a few, but we’ll get a few back, which is positive,” he said.
Tupaea and Segner both returned home due to injury during the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour.
“We’re confident that Quinn will be back in time for [the Bledisloe Cup], and Anton Segner should be pretty close,” Rennie said.
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Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images
The post Mixed injury bag for All Blacks appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
The All Blacks will be without captain Ardie Savea and vice-captain Luke Jacobson for their Bledisloe Cup Tests against the Wallabies.
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