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Injury set to rule breakthrough All Blacks star Sititi out of Super Rugby Pacific
Sport Nation • January 16th, 2025 3:40 pm
Photo: Photosport
The Chiefs may be without one of their most potent weapons for the 2025 edition of Super Rugby Pacific.
Stand-out All Blacks loose forward Wallace Sititi is nursing a knee injury which will rule him out of - at the very least - a majority of the team's upcoming campaign.
The injury was sustained during last year's northern tour, where the 22-year-old rose to prominence as one of the most exciting young talents in international rugby, which he capped by earning World Rugby's Breakthrough Player of the Year award.
Photo: Photosport
Sititi will undergo surgery to repair his troublesome knee, which will reportedly rule him out of most - and in a worst case scenario, all - of next season.
Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan says he's unsure of the injury's severity nor how it was suffered, adding they wouldn't know the exact extent of his absence until after he undergoes surgery.
"I guess the fact that he's got to have surgery gives you an indication that it's reasonably serious, but we don't know how serious at this stage," he said after pre-season training.
"We just know it happened on the end-of-year tour, but he's able to walk around.
“It's one of those little niggles, I guess, that you never really truly know the extent of until you get under the surgeon knife, and they can give some clarity to that.”
The Chiefs kick off their bid for the title on February 15 in a rematch of last year's final against the Blues at Eden Park.
The Hamilton-based side will also be without star back Shaun Stevenson, who will miss the first three matches of the season due to his short-term sabbatical with Japan's Kubota Spears.
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