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Chiefs play down Aaron Cruden injury woes: 'He's going to come in fit and healthy'

November 11, 2019
Aaron Cruden of the Chiefs makes a pass.
Chiefs v Crusaders at the ANZ National Stadium, Suva, Fiji, Round 13 of the 2017 Super Rugby season. 
19 May 2017.
Copyright photo: Bruce Southwick / www.photosport.nz

The Chiefs are confident that Aaron Cruden will return to the side fighting fit, having struggled to stay on the pitch during his ill-fated stint playing in France.

Cruden, 30, will next season return to the Chiefs on a one-year deal,  having spent the past two seasons in France with Montpellier.

However, with Cruden's time in the Top 14 blighted by one injury after another, most notably with a troublesome calf, Chiefs chief executive Michael Collins told Stuff that the side are happy to place their trust in Cruden's ability to stay fit.

"We've spoken to Aaron and watched some of his games, and a couple of the injuries he did suffer in France were contact injuries and we always knew he was going to come right," Collins said.

"But the driver for us was he has such a history with the Chiefs, he's a world-class first five-eighth, we've got some really good young backs coming through and we thought his recruitment would serve two purposes - to help drive the team round the field, and also to be an older voice and someone for those younger players to learn off.

"We know that he's going to come in fit and healthy, so we thought it'd be better to get his family settled, focus on that, then join the team after the Christmas break."

Cruden will join the Chiefs' squad in January, before beginning their Super Rugby season against the Blues on January 31.

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