Ali Williams will not play for eight weeks – Rugby News Update
Ali Williams, the 31-year-old Blues and New Zealand lock has been ruled out of competitive rugby for eight weeks following a knee injury.
Williams, who is considered as one of the best locks in the game will be disappointed after having to go under the knife once again. He will miss a certain portion of the Super Rugby campaign and would be missing out the series against Ireland as well.
The Irish are currently touring the southern hemisphere country for a three-match test series, and they have lost the first two matches. The visiting team will be determined to avoid a clean sweep, and Williams will not be there to help his team achieve
the feat.
Deb Robinson, the All Blacks' doctor, shed light on his injury by saying, "Ali developed a sore right knee over the last couple of weeks and a scan has revealed that he has a flap of loose articular cartilage which will require surgery. He will see a surgeon
this week in Auckland."
Steve Hansen, the head coach of New Zealand has called the Chiefs' flanker, Liam Messam, as a replacement for the lock.
Robinson further said on his injury, "It's obviously disappointing for Ali to have this new injury but he is expected to make a full recovery. Once he has had the surgery, we will have a clearer idea of how long he will be out of rugby but it he is expected
to be out for a minimum of eight weeks."
The 75 times capped international has had injury problems for the last few seasons. The second row made his debut for the Auckland-based blues in 2002, and would go on to make his international debut against England in November of the same year at Twickenham.
In the 75 matches that he has played for the All Blacks, he has started 62 of those games, and has come on as a substitute a further 13 times. He has scored 7 times for his country, and with him in the team; the All Blacks win 84.66% of their games.
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