ALL BLACK DAN Carter is set to be sidelined for four weeks after suffering a cracked upper fibula in his right leg during last weekend’s Super Rugby final.
The 32-year-old limped off the pitch in Sydney just 30 minutes into the Crusader’s 33-32 defeat to the Waratahs, and is now almost certain to miss New Zealand’s opening two games of the upcoming Rugby Championship.
Steve Hansen’s side face Australia on August 16 in Sydney, then take on the same opponents in Auckland on August 23. A rest weekend follows, before the Kiwis welcome Argentina to Napier on September 6.
Carter will hope to be fit again for the latter of those fixtures, with Aaron Cruden likely to continue in the All Blacks’ 10 shirt for the opening games against Australia. The Chiefs playmaker started all three June Tests at out-half in Carter’s absence.
The superb form of Beauden Barrett for the Hurricanes this season means Hansen has another strong option to push Cruden, although the 23-year-old offers a different skillset to his Chiefs rival.
Crusader Carter took a six-month sabbatical from the game following last year’s November Tests, returning to help his franchise into the final of Super Rugby. His involvement’s came in the 12 shirt, with Colin Slade holding onto the out-half slot under coach Todd Blackadder.
Carter sustained the small crack in his calf bone after a heavy tackle in the first half of the clash with the Waratahs. An original X-ray missed the injury, but a later scan confirmed the damage. The Crusaders say the crack simply requires rest in order to heal.
Meanwhile, Argentina head coach Daniel Hourcade named his 26-man squad for the Rugby Championship over the weekend, with Worcester Warriors’ Agustín Creevy captaining the group.
The Pumas’ schedule sees them opening with two games against Heyneke Meyer’s powerful South Africa squad. Hourcade has prepared his men by playing two friendly matches against Grenoble in the last fortnight, emerging with two wins on home soil.
Argentina squad for the 2014 Rugby Championship:
Forwards: Rodrigo Baez, Agustín Creevy (capt.), Matías Cortese, Pablo Matera, Leonardo Senatore, Mariano Galarza, Matias Alemanno, Juan Manuel Leguizamón, Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe, Marcos Ayerza, Ramiro Herrera, Tomás Lavanini, Lucas Noguera Paz, Bruno Postiglioni, Nuhuel Tetaz Chaparro.
Backs: Joaquin Tuculet, Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino, Manuel Montero, Horacio Agulla, Juan Imhoff, Marcelo Bosch, Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias, Juan Martín Hernández, Tomas Cubelli, Nicolas Sanchez, Martin Landajo.
