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Leonard out for the year

Wednesday 02nd July 2008

Out of action: Leonard will be out for longer than he expected

All Black and Waikato scrum-half Brendon Leonard will be out of action for six months after having surgery on his knee.

At first it was expected Leonard would only be sidelined for two months, however keyhole surgery revealed further damage that required a full ligament reconstruction.

Leonard will spend the next five months recovering from the surgery as he looks to prove his fitness in time for next season's Super 14.

"They had to nail the cartilage on to the bone, using these smart nails that dissolve by themselves," Leonard explained to Stuff.nz.

"There was quite a bit of the cartilage hanging off so they had to try to save the cartilage to help me out in the long term.

"So it's six weeks on crutches and go from there but it's going to be a lot longer process than first thought and I have to give the bone bruising time to heal as well. I think it's four or five months' recovery time all up."

Leonard said he was unsure whether he would be able to play again this year and felt he might have to concentrate on getting the knee right for next year.

"It's just one of those things that every player has to go through at some stage," he added.

"It was going to be a big year for myself and unfortunately it hasn't quite gone the way I would have liked but there's always a chance in the future. I'm only 23 this year and I've just got to ride this out and come back next year."

Leonard said he hadn't decided what he would do for the rest of the year but could either head overseas once he was mobile again and scans had confirmed the surgery was a success or he could stay in Hamilton and complete some university papers.