All Black Ben Smith may have played his final appearance for the Highlanders after it was confirmed he will miss the next six to eight weeks with a hamstring injury.
Smith is set to leave the Highlanders at the end of the season to join French out-fit Pau. With that in mind if the New Zealand-based side fail to qualify for the Super Rugby quarter-finals, then Smith will not play for them again.
The full-back is the franchises most capped player with over 150 appearances and was injured during last weekend’s draw with the Chiefs when he landed awkwardly following a tackle by Luke Jacobson.
It was hoped after the game that the injury would not be too serious, however, assistant coach Glenn Delaney confirmed the extent of the injury on Tuesday morning.
“He’s had a high hamstring strain, so he’s going to be out for six to eight weeks. [It’s been] a normal sort of process with those things, just a classic rugby incident where he just got caught in a tackle and overextended it. All the right things have been done, as you would expect, and he’ll be back as quick as he can be with the right rehab,” he said.
Smith was also spotted with a laceration on his chin when he left the field and there were concerns that his history with concussions may come into play again. However, Delaney said this was not the case.
“That’s nothing, that’s just superficial, if anything. It’s just a hamstring injury,” he added.
The Highlanders have had an unfortunate time of it with regards to injuries this season. The likes of Aaron Smith, Luke Whitelock, Liam Squire and Waisake Naholo have all had time on the side-line already this term.
The franchise currently sits in seventh-place and with Squire and Naholo returning from injury this weekend they will look to secure a play-off spot to allow 32-year-old Smith tog out for them one more time.
Check Out Highlights of the Highlanders 31-31 Draw with the Chiefs Below!
