Cane injury not as serious as first suspected

After going down in a heap on Saturday when he collided with Barrett's knee, the first two to reach Cane's side were the oppositions Dane Coles and Jordie Barrett who rushed to check on their All Black team mate. In the meantime Warren Gatland has moved to allay fears over the seriousness of the injury.

Chiefs captain Cane collided heavily with Barrett's knee about 26 minutes into his sides 31-18 loss to the Hurricanes on Saturday leaving him prone and in distress. There was immediate concern from teammates and coaches that he'd aggravated the old neck fracture he'd suffered in South Africa two years ago.

However he regained consciousness and did walk from the field which by all accounts is a good sign. He must now go through return-to-play test measures before any decisions on his playing again this year will be made.

“I’ve got a close relationship with Sammy and he didn’t look too good,” Hurricanes captain Coles said.

“I caught up with him after the game and he seems stable to be fair. You’ve got to feel for the fella, it’s a tough gig with a few of those. We wish him all the best with recovery and getting well.”

The immediate concern for Cane stemmed from the neck fracture he suffered in SA playing against the Boks two years ago. This almost ended his playing career and all were worried he had aggravated it again. Cane is a leading defensive presence and with his abrasive play often ends up putting himself in compromising positions but then that's what makes him such a valuable player to the Chiefs and All Blacks. He's the kind of player that always makes his presence felt on the field!

Gatland thankfully cleared Cane of major damage to his neck on this occasion and with the Chiefs now finishing their season one week early for the bye, the newly appointed captain now has three weeks to recover for the North vs South match that he's anticipated to play in.

“He was a loss for us. He’s had a knock, I don’t think it was anything to do with his neck,” Gatland said.

“He’s lined Jordie up, and he’s come down and hit him. It looks like it’s a concussion that he’ll go through. Talking to him in the changing rooms he seems okay. He can remember what happened, so it’s not like he can’t recall the incident, so he’ll need to go through the return-to-play protocols.”

May he recover swiftly as the All Blacks will need their newly appointed captain operating at one hundred percent going into the Rugby Champs.

(Source: rugbypass.com)