Tuivasa-Sheck originally thought his knee was OK
Injured Warriors fullback Roger Tuivasa-Sheck said he was ‘‘in shock’’ so thought his knee was fine after treatment, only to discover a few plays later it certainly wasn’t.
Tuivasa-Sheck yesterday spoke about the knee injury that has curtailed his first season with the New Zealand club, and ruled him out of the Kiwis.
Scans showed he suffered a serious knee injury against the Bulldogs at Wellington Stadium in Wellington on Saturday. He lasted less than a quarter of the game.
He ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in the 24-20 win, it was revealed on Monday.
But Tuivasa-Sheck stayed on after having his knee strapped. He didn’t think he was badly hurt.
‘‘I got tackled and I was trying to hold my stance and try and get the ball offloaded and the player buckled and locked my legs together and twisted me over,’’ he said on the Warriors website yesterday.
‘‘I was just in shock, it wasn’t really painful so I got up and played the ball. When I took that second carry and went to load up on my left foot to step is when it buckled.’’
Tuivasa-Sheck was an auto- matic selection for the Anzac test in Newcastle on May 6. Instead he is scheduled for surgery the following week.
He celebrated the victory with his teammates in the changing sheds and he felt OK on the flight back to Auckland, ‘‘swinging my leg side to side’’.
He said he thought he’d be had initially out for a few games, and was disappointed to learn his season was over.
On Sunday he found he had a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.
‘‘I was ready for six to seven weeks, and when he said the season, I was just in big shock. It was crazy, but it’s just something you have to deal with and you have to roll on now.’’