Milner-skudder looks on the bright side
‘‘Three fractures in the toes’’ doesn’t sound too serious.
So when Nehe Milner-skudder emerged on crutches, and with the obligatory moon boot, it was actually rather startling. But, as the Hurricanes fullback quickly explained, things weren’t quite as bad as they looked.
‘‘It’s just to keep off the foot and let the body heal and let the bones go back into place,’’ a positive Milner-skudder said.
‘‘So [it’s] more of a precaution and [an attempt to] try and milk it a little bit as well with the crutches when I get home and not have to do too much around the house, but that will probably wear off after a couple of weeks.
‘‘There’s three fractures in the toes. Not big ones and, from my understanding, it’s about four weeks in the boot.’’
It’s been an unfortunate run for the 26-year-old, who missed virtually all of 2016 with a shoulder injury and then made a late start to this campaign due a a hamstring twinge. Unlike last year, though, Milner-skudder knows his recovery time’s short, meaning there’s little reason to get down in the dumps. His team-mates help, too. ‘‘It’s pretty easy [to be in good spirits] when you rock up to training and you see the boys smiling. There’s a pretty good atmosphere here.’’
With the British and Irish Lions arriving in New Zealand in June, it’s preferable for All Blacks aspirants such as Milner-skudder to be on the park. However, he says there’s no anxiety about being out of the selection shop window
for a few weeks.
‘‘To be fair, I haven’t thought that far down the track. This week’s just been [about] coming to grips with the injury and what I need to do around putting in a plan around my rehab and how I’m going to best heal up.’’
He anticipates at least a fortnight in the moon boot, before a bit of weight-bearing activity. Provided there are no dramas the assumption is that he should be back in the selection mix for the
home match against the Blues on April 15.
In the meantime, Milnerskudder’s doing what he can to keep his fitness up.
‘‘I’m on the grinder at the moment and single-leg row, so that’s keeping me occupied; getting in the gym and doing a bit of upper body and single-leg work.’’
Jordie Barrett starts at fullback against the Highlanders at Westpac Stadium tomorrow, with Cory Jane (neck) still not ready to play.