All Blacks: Ardie Savea set for lengthy stint on the sidelines as injury update provided
All Blacks loose forwards Ardie Savea and Luke Jacobson (inset) are both ruled out due to injuries.
New Zealand Rugby (NZR) have announced that All Blacks skipper Ardie Savea will have an operation on his dislocated shoulder and no confirmation date has been revealed for his return to action.
The 32-year-old sustained the injury during the latter part of the opening half of third Greatest Rivalry Test series against the Springboks at the FNB Stadium in Soweto earlier this month.
Ruled out of final Greatest Rivalry series Test
This, after Savea was cleared out of a ruck during the Springboks’ 29-24 victory and the injury ruled him out of the fourth and final Test at the M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, which the world champions won 43-28 to clinch a 3-1 series triumph.
It has already been confirmed that Savea will miss the All Blacks‘ Bledisloe Cup fixtures against the Wallabies in Auckland and Sydney next month. However, his participation in New Zealand’s Nations Championship Tests in November is also in doubt due to his imminent surgery.
NZR said a return-to-play timeframe for the back-row would only be made after his surgery.
However, with the rehabilitation after a shoulder operation usually taking around six months, Savea is unlikely to make his return to action before the end of this year.
Part of a lengthy All Blacks injury list
Savea’s absence is part of a lengthy injury list for the All Blacks after their return to New Zealand following Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series.
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It was also confirmed that fellow loose forward Luke Jacobson is expected to be ruled out for four to five months after having surgery on an elbow tendon injury while winger Caleb Clarke should be sidelined for five months due to his ruptured shoulder tendon.
NZR’s latest injury list also revealed that Anton Lienert-Brown (four to six weeks), Quinn Tupaea (one to two weeks), Anton Segner (one to two weeks), Cortez Ratima (one to two weeks) and Billy Proctor (four to six weeks) are among those recovering from injuries sustained on tour.
