Sonny Bill breaks down again
INJURY UPDATE: Sonny Bill Williams’ body has let him down once more.
A shoulder injury forced the midfielder to leave Saturday’s tight Test victory against England just half an hour into the match and may sideline him for the remainder of the tour.
All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen confirmed after the match that the 33-year-old may miss for their upcoming tests against Ireland and Italy.
“He’s got a grade one AC shoulder [injury]. He may be [unavailable] for a week, maybe two,” Hansen told media after the match.
Williams has struggled to stay on the field in 2018.
He managed just five appearances for the Blues in Super Rugby while battling a broken wrist and a loose bone in his knee joint and has appeared in just five tests for the All Blacks this year while battling shoulder injuries.
Williams failed to impress in his 30-minute stint while paired up with young Crusaders star Jack Goodhue. Unable to make an impact, he notched zero run metres from four carries and conceded a turnover.
Should he fail to come back at the latter stage of the tour, his next competitive appearance may not come until February with the Blues.
Ryan Crotty – who replaced Williams at Twickenham – is the favourite to start alongside Goodhue when the All Blacks face Ireland in Dublin next weekend, with Hansen stating it was too early to make a call on whether to bring in a replacement player for Williams.
“We haven’t had time to discuss that. We will see how he [Williams] pulls up in the morning, and have a bit of a chat about it later,” Hansen said.
