Casualty Ward Super Rugby AU Rd 6 & Aotearoa Rd 5
We are past the halfway point of the domestic competitions and the Casualty Ward is still keeping you up to date with all your injury news across Super Rugby AU and Aotearoa. We stay on top of all the latest news, with the added insights of our team's Physiotherapist and Podiatrist.
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Returned from injury (AU Rd 6 & Aotearoa Rd 5):
Mark Telea (Blues) - Back from a head knock last week.
Dalton Papalii (Blues) - Back from a head knock last week.
Pari Pari Parkinson (Highlanders) - Finally returned from his 2020 ankle reconstruction.
Kazuki Himeno (Highlanders) - Had his first run for the Highlanders off the bench and looked really sharp.
Ayden Johnstone (Highlanders) - Suffered a concussion while training for the North v South game last year. Finally returned via the bench.
Dane Coles (Hurricanes) - Returned this week from a minor calf injury.
Scott Scrafton (Hurricanes) - Returned from his rd 1 ankle sprain.
Pita Gus Sowakula (Chiefs) - Recovered from a knee injury to play off the bench.
Angus Bell (Waratahs) - Recovered from an ankle injury to return via the bench.
Izaia Perese (Waratahs) - Returned from a tip tackle 3-week red card layoff.
Will Harris (Waratahs) - Returned from an unknown injury to start this week.
James Slipper (Brumbies) - Returned early from a rd 3 MCL (knee) injury.
Likely back this week (AU rd 7, Aotearoa rd 6):
Jona Nareki (Highlanders) - Has a hip pointer injury (bruised pelvis) from rd 3. Was originally a chance to play last week, but didn't recover well enough. Source.
Blake Gibson (Blues) - Got a concussion in rd 4. Should be back in the mix after a week off.
George Bridge (Crusaders) - Fit again after having his pec muscle repaired last year. Has already played some minutes for the development side. Source.
Manasa Mataele (Crusaders) - Recovered from a pec muscle repair in mid October only a few days after Bridge. Has been playing for the development side. Source.
Asafo Aumua (Hurricanes) - Damaged his AC joint in his shoulder in round 2. Missed rd 5 and was still at least a week away. Source.
Feao Fotuaika (Reds) - Picked up a red card for cleaning a man with his shoulder to the head in rd 2. He has been banned for 3 weeks so was back in the mix last week for rd 6.
Tom Wright (Brumbies) - Suffered bone bruising during training in the first week of February. Was expected to miss at least the first six weeks of Super Rugby AU. A chance to return this week. Source.
Solomone Kata (Brumbies) - Apparently he was injured again and could be back this week. Source.
Bayley Kuenzle (Brumbies) - Apparently he was injured and could be back this week. Source.
Jake Gordon (Waratahs) - Suffered a syndesmosis (high ankle) sprain in rd 1. Likely to return this week. Source.
New Injuries (AU Rd 6, Aotearoa Rd 5):
Sam Cane (Chiefs) - Came off at the 66-minute mark, we think he may have had a right arm injury.
Jahrome Brown (Brumbies) - Came off with a shoulder injury. Looked very sore but we will wait on more news. Source.
Jeremy Thrush (Western Force) - Was a late withdrawal with an ankle injury. Source.
Rob Kearney (Western Force) - We heard murmurs that he is injured. Source.
Jake McIntyre (Western Force) - Came off early with a hamstring injury. Source.
Greg Holmes (Western Force) - Came off with what looked like a rib injury after a scrum in the first half.
James O'Connor (Reds) - Was seen icing his ankle on the sideline.
Suliasi Vunivalu (Reds) - Tore his hamstring in rd 6, is expected to be out two to four wee,s which means he may only be back for the AU grand final. Source.
Jordan Petaia (Reds) - Came off in the 2nd half with what looked like cramp. There is some suspicion he may have a hamstring injury, but he was not mentioned in the post-match press conference. Source.
Sam Wykes (Waratahs) - Came off with a sore looking elbow injury. We originally thought it was his shoulder, but he was spotted with ice on his elbow on the sideline. Source.
Sam Caird (Waratahs) - Left the field in the first half with a concussion and won't be able to recover quickly enough to play the Brumbies next week.
Lalakai Foketi (Waratahs) - Joined the casualty ward in the second half, as he limped off with a foot injury. Source.
Ongoing Injury List:
AUSTRALIA
Western Force
Kyle Godwin - Pulled pregame rd 1 with an ankle injury on Wednesday. Apparently he has fractured it so he should be out for at least 8 weeks. Source.
Andrew Ready - Copped a red card for punching someone in the head. Banned for 3 weeks. Means he will be back for round 8.
Toni Pulu - Has a low-grade ankle injury. We think he will miss 1-2 weeks. Source.
Richard Kahui - Limped off for an HIA and failed in rd 5. Will go through concussion protocols. We suspect he could return in rd 8 after the bye.
Brumbies
Connal McInerney - Came off with a bad ankle injury in rd 3. Has apparently fractured his fibula (and probably damaged his syndesmosis). Is expected to be out for an extended period. Source.
Allan Alaalatoa - Red carded for taking Pone's head off. Banned for 3 weeks. Back in rd 8. Source.
Scott Sio - Came off with a nasty looking elbow injury in rd 4. Apparently he has "injured ligaments" so we would predict roughly 4-6 weeks out. Source.
Tom Ross - Came off with a knee injury in rd 4.
Tom Cusack - Looks to have injured his collar bone in rd 4.
Reds
Liam Wright - Will miss up to 10 weeks of the season with a syndesmosis injury in the preseason trial against the Waratahs. Source.
Rebels
Dane Haylett-Petty - Still out with ongoing concussion symptoms since the test season last year. Source.
Cameron Orr - Out with a hamstring injury. Not sure of its severity. Source.
Campbell Magnay - Missed rd 2 due to a quad strain, the reports inferred he wasn't far away but that isn't confirmed. Source.
Emosi Tuqiri - Out with a lower-body injury. Source.
Isi Naisarani - Was expected to miss at least the Reds game (rd 2) after knee arthroscopy (clean up) showed far more extensive damage than was anticipated. He is fit but still building his quad strength. Source.
Jeral Skelton - Had a plate inserted in a minor leg fracture. Was on the plane to play in rd 3 so he should be close to play if he is to be selected. Source.
Kailea Isaac Aedo - Suffered a shoulder injury. Not sure what he has done.
Lewis Holland - Was one of a number of players coach Wessels name-dropped as injured in his post-match interview.
Ross Haylett-Petty - Copped a three week ban following his red card in rd 4. Source.
Waratahs
Robbie Abel - Has an ankle injury and isn't back training two weeks out from round 1. Source.
Joey Walton - Limped off with an ankle injury in rd 1. Could miss up to three months so we might not see him again this season. Source.
Jack Dempsey - Suffered a stress fracture in his foot after the game in rd 5 and won't play rd 6. These things often take 4-6 weeks at least to heal. It will be interesting to see how quickly they push him back in. Source.
Lachlan Swinton - Suffered an ankle injury in rd 5 and won't play rd 6. A possibility to play the following week before their bye. Source.
NEW ZEALAND
Toni Brown has let out that there is no set plan to rest All Blacks this year - Source.
Highlanders
Sam Gilbert – Tore his ACL in rd 3 and will miss 9 months. Due back around April 2021. Source.
Daniel Lienert-Brown - Came off with a bad-looking shoulder injury. He has fractured his arm and will be back around the end of April. Source.
Chiefs
Atu Moli – Had FAI (hip impingement) surgery on both hips to treat chronic hip dysfunction. Missed the entire 2020 season. Still on the road to recovery as of rd 2 2021. Source.
Laghlan McWhannell - Currently has a knee injury which we assume is still the patella tendon debridement from last year. Word is that he has had further surgery. Missed all of 2020 and now has had an injury replacement brought in so we assume he is out for some time. Source.
Lachlan Boshier - Hasn't played this season due to a minor foot injury. Aggravated it before rd 3 and won't play again in rd 4. Source.
Nathan Harris - Has a long-term plan to get back in genuine contention for the match-day squad is in place after a long stint on the sideline. Source.
Tupou Vaai - Concussed in rd 4. Missed rd 5 but we suspect he will return in rd 7 after the bye.
Solomon Alaimalo - As of rd 5 is "unwell" and is still a few weeks away. Source.
Nehe Milner-Skudder - As of rd 5 they said he wasn't fully ready for a Super Rugby return following his well-documented shoulder injury. Source.
Etene Nanai-Seturo - Out of rd 5 with what is suspected to be a minor hamstring injury. Source.
Mitch Karpik - Missing in rd 5 due to a neck injury of unknown severity. Source.
Josh Lord - Out of rd 5 with a shoulder injury. Source.
Jonah Lowe - Was unwell and hasn't trained with the team leading up to week 5. Source.
Hurricanes
Jamie Booth - Tore his MCL and PCL in his knee, plus fractured his tibial plateau (surface of his knee joint). Had an operation in October. I'd suspect he is about six months (April) to return as a minimum but Holland has said he could even miss the entire season. Source.
Vaea Fifita - Missed rd 2 with concussion. No word on his return.
Crusaders
Braydon Ennor - Tore his ACL in the North V South game and is not due back until after SR Aotearoa. Source.
Tom Sanders - Fractured his cheek in the intrasquad match (Feb 6th we think), ruled out for 8-10 weeks. This would mean a rd 6 return at the earliest. Source.
Blues
Ray Niuia – Had a knee injury that cost him his 2020 season. We assume he is back competing for a spot this year.
Soane Vikena - The NZ U20s hooker will miss the season with a shoulder injury from back in November. Source.
Dillon Hunt - Listed as injured before the last preseason game. No other details yet. Source.
Jone Macalai - Listed as injured before the last preseason game. No other details yet. Source.
Josiah Maraku - Listed as injured before the last preseason game. No other details yet. Source.
Kurt Eklund - Cited for his tip tackle on Sevu Reece in rd 4 and given a three week ban. He will return in rd 9 after their bye. Source.
Gone for the season:
Andrew Makalio (Crusaders) - has been ruled out of the 2021 Super Rugby season due to a neck injury. Source.
Tom Christie (Crusaders) - Dislocated his shoulder in rd 3 and will have surgery. He won't play again this year. Return to sport is roughly 6 months. Source.
Jermaine Ainsley (Highlanders) - Ruled out for the majority of SR Aotearoa due to a high ankle sprain sustained the week before the first trial. Source.
Fetuli Paea (Highlanders) - Ruled out of the rest of the season after injuring his ankle in the last preseason trial. Source.
Simon Hickey (Hurricanes) - Tore his ACL in preseason and will miss the entire 2021 season. Orbyn Leger is likely to get a full contract as injury cover. Source.
Jackson Garden-Bachop (Hurricanes) - Had surgery on his achilles tear, ruling him out for up to 9 months. Source.
James Parsons (Blues) - Retiring on medical advice, after being out of the game for several months from a head injury. Source.
Kini Naholo (Chiefs) - Will miss the entire 2021 Super Rugby campaign with injury.
Liam Squire (Highlanders) - Has flared up his knee injury and is out for the season. Source.
Julian Montoya (Western Force) - Couldn't get a visa for his wife so is no longer join the Force. He is joining Leicester Tigers instead. Source.
Rhys van Nek (Rebels) - The young prop is out for the season with a hamstring injury. Source.
Have we missed something? Drop a comment or tweet and let us know.
Written by your local rugby nerd Harrison Dale.