Aumua faced with long layoff
Hurricanes hooker Asafo Aumua is faced with a three-month sideline stint after suffering a wrist injury.
Fairfax have reported that Aumua has had surgery on his fractured wrist and is set to spend six weeks in a cast, with a further six weeks spent rehabbing the injury.
“Whether he returns for playoffs, which hopefully he will be, we’ll be pretty happy with that,” Hurricanes assistant coach John Plumtree told Fairfax.
The injury, suffered in the Hurricanes’ last-gasp win over the Sharks in round eight, has led to Canterbury’s Nathan Vella receiving a call up to play behind Ricky Riccitelli and James O’Reilly.
Aumua joins fellow Hurricanes and All Blacks hooker Dane Coles on the sidelines, with the latter hoping for a July return at the earliest.
20-year-old Aumua is in his first season of Super Rugby after starring for Wellington in the Mitre 10 Cup for the last two years.
Aumua’s form in the provincial competition saw him earn an end of year call-up to Steve Hansen’s All Blacks squad, where he played against the Barbarians and the French XV, though neither fixture carried test status.
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