All Blacks Rene Ranger doubtful for November tour
New Zealand All Blacks winger Rene Ranger is doubtful for the clubs November tour of the northern hemisphere in November.
Ranger suffered a hamstring injury over the weekend when his ITM Cup side Northland faced Counties Manukau in domestic play. The injury was first thought to be a grade one tear, which would certainly have kept the youngster out of the November Tests. Instead
it was revealed that the tear looks to be a grade two or three and there is hope that the back could return to the pitch in time for their tour.
Northland Coach Bryce Woodward stated that Ranger would definitely be out for at least the next two weeks and will miss starts against Waikato and Hawke’s Bay. However, the club is hoping that the 23-year-old will be fit in time to participate in a game
on 17 October against Tasman.
The All Blacks head coach Graham Henry will also be hoping that Ranger is healthy in time for the match against Tasman, as the club is expected to announce their final squad on the same day. Nevertheless, the likelihood of Henry naming Ranger to the club
without knowing for sure if he is fully fit is very low.
Nonetheless, the All Blacks did get good news in that Luke McAlister has been cleared for play and will be able to join the team for their tour.
There was concern that McAlister had suffered a broken jaw, which would have kept him out of the line-up in November. However, the 27-year-old has been cleared to play and should slot in well for New Zealand at the fly-half or inside centre position.
McAlister has collected 30 caps with the All Blacks, earning 153 points, while the youngster Ranger has only managed three caps and five points.
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