New Zealand will be without lock Sam Whitelock and flanker Liam Messam when they face South Africa in the Rugby Championship on Saturday.
Whitelock suffered a rib injury in the 28th minute of a 28-9 win against Argentina last weekend after falling awkwardly at a line-out and was replaced by Jeremy Thrush.
Messam hurt his thigh while scoring New Zealand’s second try and was replaced by Sam Cane shortly after half-time.
“[Whitelock] has got a rib cartilage [injury] rather than a rib fracture, so we’ll have to see over the next couple of days how quickly that comes right,” All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said. “But worst-case scenario is probably four weeks and best-case scenario is probably three.”
Messam is also expected to be out for up to four weeks.
Whitelock’s absence means Thrush, who impressed against the Pumas, is likely to be retained alongside Brodie Retallick at Westpac Stadium. Thrush was not part of the initial Rugby Championship squad, but was called in when Patrick Tuipulotu and Dominic Bird were ruled out, with ankle and toe injuries, respectively.
Hansen said both of those players were well on the road to recovery, with Tuipulotu the more likely of the two to be available in Wellington.
“Patrick has a good chance of being available, but obviously, hasn’t played for some time,” Hansen said. “Dominic is probably a week away. We won’t panic about that. We’ll get down to Wellington and see how everyone is.
“Patrick and Dominic are getting closer and closer to playing, so we’ll make some decision about how they are early in the week and go from there.”
The All Blacks go into this weekend’s clash leading the Springboks by three points in the Rugby Championship table after the South Africans were beaten 24-23 by Australia, thanks to a late try by Nick Phipps.
Ewen McKenzie, the Australia coach, is not blinded by the fact that his side won their first game of the tournament, and knows they need to improve when they face Argentina on Saturday.
“We got an outcome, which is great, but I like to be consistent, so we need to win again next week,” said McKenzie, who warned his side not to take winless Argentina lightly.
“We’ve had a win against a quality side and we move on. Argentina’s a whole different kettle of fish, they’re not the same team we played last year.
“They’re very competitive and combative. We’ll dust ourselves off and have a look at that challenge.”
Argentina will play without lock Tomas Lavanini against Australia after he was suspended for a week by Sanzar (South Africa, New Zealand and Australia Rugby), the controlling body of the Rugby Championship.
Adam Casselden, the Sanzar judicial officer, accepted a guilty plea from Lavanini on a charge of dangerous charging after he was cited during the New Zealand loss.
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