Blues lose Rokocoko for season

Blues lose Rokocoko for season

April 07, 2008

THE Blues have lost Joe Rokocoko for three to four months after the winger had surgery on his right wrist.

Rokocoko is set to miss the rest of the Blues Super 14 campaign, after injuring the wrist during his team's match against the Western Force last month.

The injury puts him in doubt for All Black lineup for the test series against England and Ireland in June as well as the Tri-Nations series, beginning in July.

Blues lose Rokocoko for season - Rugby - Fox Sports

what a blow for the all blacks ey

Rokocoko out for three months

rugbyheaven.co.nz | April 7, 2008 - 1:15PM

Joe Rokocoko's Super 14 season is over and he may miss a significant part of the international calendar due to a wrist injury that requires surgery.

The Blues wing sustained the injury during the match against the Western Force last month.

While the injury is not painful, it requires surgery to repair the damage in his right wrist and will keep him off the field for three to four months.

The layoff means Rokocoko will miss the All Black tests against Ireland and England in June and he will be lucky to be back on the field when the Tri Nations kicks off on July 5.

Blues team doctor Stephen Kara said the injury was caused by a blow to the dorsum of the right wrist.

"Initial x-rays were clear with no bony injuries seen," said Kara.

"However, at training during that week, it became clinically obvious that Joe had ruptured the scapho-lunate ligament in the wrist.

"This is a ligament that stabilises the small carpal/wrist bones (not a common injury in isolation) and if not surgically repaired will lead to long term disruption of all the wrist bones and a painful arthritis within five years.

"In consultation with hand surgeon, Chris Taylor, it was decided that surgery could be delayed but best done within 3 - 4 weeks of the initial injury so long as pain was not an issue.

"Joe was keen to continue to play prior to surgery and completed games against the Waratahs, Bulls and Stormers.

"We have consulted with the All Black medical staff throughout this process and expect that Joe will most likely be out of rugby for three to four months after his operation which will be done later this week."

Rokocoko said he was extremely disappointed to be out of action.

"It's hard for me to leave the team and not play, especially when my wrist doesn't really hurt," he said.

"But I'm in the hands of the medical staff and the risks long-term outweigh any option to keep on playing for the short term."

The Blues squad is devastated to see the flying winger forced out of the team.

"Joe is a much valued team-mate in our squad. His contribution on and off the field for the Blues this season has been tremendous and we will certainly miss him from our ranks," said Blues coach David Nucifora.

"Post-surgery Joe will continue to play a support role within our squad and we will be doing all we can to assist with his recovery."

The Blues have David Smith as injury cover for Rokocoko, however he has yet to take the field in the Super 14 this season.

Rokocoko out for three months - rugbyheaven.com.au

dam, he was getting heaps of dream team points.

guhh. same here