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'Isn't looking good': Chiefs preparing for loss of All Black centre to injury
By Ben Smith
The Chiefs are keeping their fingers crossed for All Black centre Anton Lienert-Brown, but head coach Clayton McMillan and captain Sam Cane fear the worst after he was forced from the field clutching his shoulder.
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Lienert-Brown was attempting to steal the ball at a ruck over Blues fullback Stephen Perofeta when an innocuous clean out by Sam Nock left the centre clutching his right shoulder just five minutes into the contest.
He was left in a sling and will undergo scans to diagnose the shoulder, but head coach Clayton McMillan said it ‘doesn’t look great’ and feared another stint on the sidelines for the All Black midfielder.
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“Not great at the moment, I don’t think. He’s putting on a brave face but initial reports aren’t looking good,” McMillan said.
“I’m not sure [what it is]. His arm is in a sling at the moment.
“He got a big bang on it in a jackal. Someone’s come in and hit him in the spot. Might be just one of those things that turns up tomorrow and it’s better but initially it doesn’t look
great.”
Captain Sam Cane was hopeful but his gut feel was that Lienert-Brown ‘may be in a bit of strife’.
“Certainly feel for him. He’s a massive part of our team and he’s probably closing in on 100 games too.
“I’m not gonna feel too sorry for him yet. I’m gonna hold my fingers crossed and hope that it’s not as bad we [initially] thought but probably gut feeling is that he may be in a bit of strife.”
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Lienert-Brown has had rotten luck with injuries over the last 18 months with surgery on his elbow ruling him out of the All Blacks tests against Tonga and the first one against Fiji before he was rushed back for the second test.
On last year’s end of year tour he injured the same shoulder against Ireland and missed the final test against France.
The loss of their experienced centre so early in the contest was just one of many unlucky aspects of the Chiefs’ night, as a number of ruled out tries kept them scoreless.
Despite the challenging night, head coach McMillan still has sights on making a run for a high finish to secure playoff fixtures at home.
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“The goal was nine wins but obviously we didn’t come close to that. I just think it’s really important that you just keep ticking over points. We started off really well and then the
last two or three weeks, we’ve had a little bit of a rollercoaster,” he said.
“We’ve certainly had our ups but we’ve well and truly had our downs. What is there, six, seven games left?
“You’ve just gotta respect each and every one of them and if you do that, then you give yourself a decent chance at picking up points and finish in the top eight and obviously a high as can in that top eight to give yourself some sort of advantage around home quarter-final, semi-final.”
