Kaino ruled out of Africa trip

FLANKER JEROME Kaino will not travel to South Africa with the Blues due to a shoulder injury.

He suffered the injury during last week’s 29-14 loss to the Chiefs in Hamilton and it is unknown how long he will be out of action for.

“Plain x-rays have revealed a small bony Bankart lesion (small piece of bone that has been knocked off from the inferior part of the glenoid of his shoulder) and consulted with a shoulder specialist on Monday evening,” says Blues doctor Stephen Kara.

“He is to have further MRI testing to assess the complete extent of the damage and once this information is known then decisions will be made on his treatment options.”

Kaino is bitterly disappointed he will miss the trip to South Africa, but with a long season ahead, he says the sensible option is to give himself every chance of healing as quickly as possible.

“I really wanted to join the team for the match against the Stormers; that game is always a toughie and even more so in Cape Town.  But I have to listen to what the experts tell me and make sure I do the right things now to get this shoulder sorted.”

Peter Saili was called in to travel to South Africa with the team last weekend.

The loss of Rudi Wulf means Hadleigh Parkes has been called up from the Blues wider training group.

The under-fire Blues play the Bulls and Stormers during their two-match, season-defining tour of South Africa and will be desperate to win both games after suffering two disappointing losses so far.