We have come to the end of the Super Rugby AU regular season, and with it the injury news starts to slow down. Regardless, the Casualty Ward is here to deliver all your injury news for both Australian and New Zealand rugby. 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 10):

Hamish Stewart (Reds) – Came back from a hip pointer (bruised bone) and looked sharp.
Hunter Paisami (Reds) – Returned via the bench from his second MCL knee injury this year.
Chris Feauai-Sautia (Reds) – Came back from a calf tear to start on the wing.
JP Smith (Reds) – Came back off the bench from a neck injury.
Ruan Smith (Reds) – Made his comeback returning from the Melbourne Rebels.
Dane Haylett-Petty (Rebels) – Came back from his MCL injury and played extremely well.

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Likely back this week (AU Rd 11):

Alex Mafi (Reds) – Returns from a hamstring injury. Source.

New Injuries (AU Rd 10):

Braydon Ennor (South Island/Crusaders) – Tore his ACL in the game and will miss the next 9 months fo footy. Source.

Pone Fa’amausili (Rebels) – Went down with a hamstring strain during training before rd 10 and missed the game. Won’t play in the semi-final either. Source.
Campbell Magnay (Rebels) – Hurt his ankle before rd 10 and missed the game. Source.
James Tuttle (Rebels) – Tore his hamstring during the game and is in doubt for the semi-final. Won’t play in the semi. Source.

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Ongoing Injury List:

AUSTRALIA

Western Force
Greg Holmes – Broke his thumb in rd 6. It is unclear exactly how long he will be sidelined. Source.
Brad Lacey – Pulled pregame without being mentioned. No idea what he has done at this stage.
Tevin Ferris – Didn’t last long off the bench before limping off with an ankle injury. However, the commentary team said he was going for an HIA. Not sure I agree with them.

Brumbies
Toni Pulu – Had shoulder surgery early March, still wasn’t back training in mid-May, so he is unlikely to play anytime soon. Source.
Noah Lolesio – Tore his hamstring in rd 3. The results suggest he is out for 8 weeks, but now he is a chance for rd 10. Source.

Reds
Nil

Rebels
Anaru Rangi  – Could miss the full season with “a personal health issue”. Source.
Tom English – Was meant to be playing in Japan, training with the squad but can’t be selected unless his trip is canceled. Source.
Semisi Tupou – Suffered an ACL injury in the preseason, a slight chance to come back before the end of the season. Source.
Rob Leota – Was helped from the field with a leg injury in rd 6. Source.

Waratahs
Karmichael Hunt – A late withdrawal from Rd 8 the game after suffering a minor hamstring strain in training. Was “a chance” for Rd 9 so should feature if they make finals. Source.
Tom Horton – Came off in rd 9 and was seen icing his hamstring. Potentially has a muscle tear but has been named in the Wallabies train on squad.

NEW ZEALAND
Highlanders
Nehe Milner-Skudder – Hasn’t played rugby in 18 months after consecutive shoulder injuries. Tweaked his MCL before rd 9 but was hopefully of playing club rugby regardless. That would see him a chance to play in the final round of SR Aotearoa. Source.
Pari Pari Parkinson – Suffered an ankle injury in rd 10 and won’t play in the north vs south game or All Blacks. Source.

Chiefs
Nathan Harris – Had a rotator cuff (shoulder muscle) repair on the 15th of January. Out for at least six months and was set to miss all of Super Rugby. A chance to get a run during this season but we haven’t heard anything. Source.
Aidan Ross – Came off with a calf tear in rd 6. Didn’t play in rd 7. Source.
Reuben O’Neill – Came off with a hamstring injury and didn’t play in rd 9. Source.
Ryan Coxon – Out with an injury to his thumb.
Tiaan Falcon – Suffered an injury to his knee.
Sam Cane – Came off with what looked like a knock in rd 9, ended up being a concussion. Source.
Kini Naholo – Didn’t last long before he left the field with a leg injury in rd 9.

Hurricanes
Vaea Fifita – Pulled from the starting side pre-game in rd 7, no more info at this stage. Source.
Isaia Walker-Leawere – Pulled from the starting side pre-game in rd 7, not sure of what he has done. Source.
Kobus van Wyk – Had his yellow card tackle on weber in rd 9 upgraded and was ruled out for 3 weeks. Source.

Crusaders
Manasa Mataele – Still in the process of returning from a knee injury as of rd 8. Source.
Joe Moody – Picked up a neck injury in rd 9 and was ruled out of rd 10. Source.
Oli Jager – Came off with an ugly hit to the head rd 9. Looked like a concussion but they treated it like a neck injury. Won’t play next week. Source.
Quinten Strange – Suffered a chest injury in rd 10 and won’t play in the north vs south game. Source.

Blues
Tom Robinson – Had a meniscal tear cleaned up in his knee after rd 1. Recovery said to be 6-8 weeks, they are targeting 5-6. Generally, it varies from 1-12 weeks so it is hard to guess from the outside. Source.
Hoskins Sotutu – Suffered a knee injury which ruled him out of rd 6 and rd 7. No word on a return date yet but there is some language suggesting he might be back soon. Source.
Daniel Carter – Strained his calf in training the Thursday before rd 6. Looks like his only chance to play would be against the Crusaders in rd 9. Source.
James Parsons – Still on the comeback trail from a concussion in Rd 5. Source.

Gone for the season:

Baden Wardlaw (Blues) – Forced to retire before the season due to a chronic neck fusion. Source.
Ray Niuia (Blues) – Has a knee injury that will cost him his season. Source.
Tanielu Tele’a (Blues) – Had a shoulder injury after round 6 and is out for the season. Source.
Stephen Perofeta (Blues) – Has been ruled out for the season, opening the door for Dan Carter to sign for the Blues. No more detail on his injury yet.
Ricky Jackson (Highlanders) – The hooker will miss the entire SR campaign with an ankle injury and operation. Nathan Vella brought in to replace him. Source.
James Lentjes (Highlanders) – Fracture dislocated his ankle in rd 5, will have surgery and is gone for the season. The expected recovery is 6-9 months. Source.
Connor Garden-Bachop (Highlanders) – Had an operation on his back due to return in June but his spot in the side has been taken. Source.
Tevita Nabura (Highlanders) – Still getting over an operation on his lower back after he suffered an injury at training just before Christmas, was expected back in April but his spot has been taken. Source.
Sam Gilbert (Highlanders) – Tore his ACL in rd 3 and will miss 9 months. Source.
Josh Dickson (Highlanders) – Has broken a bone in his lower leg in Aotearoa Rd 5 and will miss the remainder of the season. He is expected to be out for four months, so we expect he had to have it operated on. Source.
Kayne Hammington (Highlanders) – Fractured a bone in his hand late in the match against the Hurricanes and will miss the remainder of the campaign. Source.
Atu Moli (Chiefs) – Had FAI (hip impingement) surgery on both hips to treat chronic hip dysfunction. He will miss the entire season. Source.
Michael Allardice (Chiefs) – Gone for the season having undergone surgery for a shoulder reconstruction. Source.
Laghlan McWhannell (Chiefs) – Gone for the season having gone under the knife to have a patellar tendon debridement (this is not a good sign for such a young player). Source.
Sam McNicol (Chiefs) – Gone for the season after ankle surgery to correct his anterior impingement and clean up his joint surfaces. Source.
Luke Jacobson (Chiefs) – Fractured his hand against the Blues. The recovery time for the injury is 5 to 6 weeks but the Chiefs are taking a cautious approach and don’t expect him to play this season. Source.
Tyler Ardron (Chiefs) – Will now leave the squad to start his contract with Castres. Source.
Solomon Alaimalo (Chiefs) – Dislocated his shoulder after scoring a try and won’t take part in the rest of SR Aotearoa. Source.
Scott Barrett (Crusaders) – Tore his plantar fascia in the intrasquad trial. Had surgery on the 25th of June and will miss the full Super Rugby season. Aiming for an October return. Source.
Ethan Blackadder (Crusaders) – Now had a meniscus clean up in his knee after being scratched from rd 4. Gone for the season. Source.
Cullen Grace (Crusaders) – Ruled out of action for 6-8 weeks with a Bennett’s fracture (fractured thumb) that requires an operation in rd 3. Gone for the season. Source.
David Havili (Crusaders) – Suffered a Bennett’s fracture in his thumb and will miss the rest of the Super Rugby season. Source.
Gareth Evans (Hurricanes) – Now ruled out for the full SR Aotearoa season. We suspect from his ankle injury. Source.
Fraser Armstrong (Hurricanes) – Broke his arm and won’t play again in SR Aotearoa. Source.
Ngani Laumape (Hurricanes) – Came off with a broken wrist. Having surgery on the 30th of July and aiming for a return in mid-November. Source.

Les Leulua’iali’i-Makin (Brumbies) – ruled out of Super Rugby season after rupturing his Achilles on the 25th of January. Source.
Blake Enever (Brumbies) – Has been released by the Brumbies to return home to Brisbane immediately on compassionate grounds where he will continue his recovery from a lower leg injury. Source. Now confirmed he has signed for Leicester. Source.
Isaac Lucas (Reds) – Had his RA contract torn up after rejecting a pay cut from the Reds. Expected to sign for a Japanese rugby club. Source.
Harry Hockings (Reds) – Had his RA contract torn up after rejecting a pay cut from the Reds. Expected to sign for a Japanese rugby club. Source.
Izack Rodda (Reds) – Had his RA contract torn up after rejecting a pay cut from the Reds. Apparently he still might reverse his decision to leave. Source.
Henry Speight (Reds) – Has been released from his contract to take up a 3-year contract with Biarritz, won’t play Super Rugby AU. Source.
Dane Zander (Reds) – Suffered a knee injury in training before rd 6 and won’t play again this season. Source.
Josh Flook (Reds) – Dislocated his shoulder and had surgery before rd 10. Source.
Damien Fitzpatrick (Waratahs) – Retired from professional rugby before the AU season started. Source.
Kurtley Beale (Waratahs) – Won’t take any part in Super Rugby AU after being released early to take up his contract with Racing 92. Source.
Mack Mason (Waratahs) – Still on contract until November but has been allowed to seek employment on his farm in Queensland and isn’t back training with the squad. Source.
Carlo Tizzano (West Harbour), Joe Cotton (Southern Districts), Triston Reilly (Randwick), Henry Robertson (Sydney Uni), as well as sevens player Angus Bell (Sydney Uni) (Waratahs) – All released to play club rugby for the remainder of the season. Source
Chris Alcock (Western Force) – Has just announced his retirement prior to the start of Super Rugby AU. Source.
Luke Jones (Rebels) – Released early to play overseas and won’t play in Super Rugby AU.
Ryan Louwrens (Rebels) – Has had an operation on his ruptured bicep and will miss the rest of the season. Source.

Have we missed something? Drop a comment or tweet and let us know.

Written by your local rugby nerd Harrison Dale.