All Blacks captain Sam Cane has revealed the extent the injury that has derailed much of his season.
Cane’s name was absent from this morning’s All Blacks squad for the upcoming Rugby Championship, with Ian Foster once again handing the captaincy to Sam Whitelock. The lock led the team in Cane’s absence for this month’s Tests against Fiji and Tonga.
Cane has been sidelined since April with a pectoral injury he sustained playing for the Chiefs.
“Frustrating’s a good word, it’s probably where I was at the early stages just after diagnosis,” the 29-year-old told SENZ this morning.
Cane said the initial injury timeline he had was pushed back after other issues surfaced while addressing his pectoral injury.
“I’d been told I tore my pec, but when they went in and had a look there were three other things that needed tidying up.
“So the first initial thought was four to six months, which is the pec range. Once I ended up getting the full shoulder reconstruction it was always going to be six months.”
Cane said his rehab is now progressing well with his main objective currently being getting full movement and range back.
Once fit again, he said he’ll look to make his return to rugby at a provincial level and work his way back from there.
“I’ve looked at where the six-month mark sits post-surgery and there’re two or three games on the Bay of Plenty schedule before playoffs, so will be pretty nice to be able to pull on the Bay jersey,” he said.
Cane, who has dealt with lengthy injuries in the past including a broken neck in 2018, added while he is currently ahead of schedule in his recovery, he won’t make his return until he knows he’s 100 per cent.
“It’s one of those injuries that will be ready when it’s ready.”
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