Chiefs co-captain Sam Cane is set to miss Saturday’s Super Rugby Pacific quarterfinal against the Waratahs, as he sits out a second week with a knee injury.
After straining his right MCL in the round-14 victory over the Force, Cane didn’t travel to Fiji for the final-round win over the Fijian Drua last Saturday in the hope he would recover for the first round of the playoffs.
The All Blacks skipper sat out much of Tuesday’s training, and while assistant coach David Hill wasn’t ruling the veteran openside flanker out, it’s understood he will indeed be sidelined for the match at FMG Stadium Waikato (4.35pm kickoff).
“He did a bit of stuff at the start of training, so he’ll have to go through Thursday and see how he pulls up, so there’ll be an update on that one once the team’s named,” Hill said.
But it’s believed the Chiefs are more intent on keeping Cane back for a potential semifinal – which shapes as being against the Crusaders in Christchurch.
“If it’s a must-win and push came to shove, then he’s the type of guy who would [play],” Hill said.
“But obviously we’re dealing with someone’s limbs, so we’re pretty cautious around things and make good decisions, we’ve done it with all our guys returning to play, we’ve never forced them or rushed them back in. So we’ll have those discussions today and tomorrow.
“It’s probably everything put in the mix there and [we’ll] make a good decision in the best interests of the team and the player.”
In Cane’s absence, fellow All Blacks loosie Luke Jacobson could be an option to again start in the No 7 jersey, having produced a strong display in Lautoka, while Kaylum Boshier has also featured there at times this season, and is another alternative.