Wellington – Waikato Chiefs captain Mils Muliaina will miss at least four weeks of Super rugby after a scan on Wednesday confirmed the All Blacks fullback had sustained two fractures in his lower back.
Muliaina came off the field early following a clash in the Chiefs' win over the Melbourne Rebels on Saturday.
The scan had shown the 30-year-old had fractured the “transverse processes of his first and second lumbar vertebrae,” the team said in a statement. Transverse processes are small bones on the side of the spine.
“We estimate that he will miss about four weeks of rugby,” the team's doctor Zig Khouri said.
Muliaina's injury comes as a blow for the struggling Chiefs, but opens the door for Tim Nanai-Williams to start at fullback against the Hurricanes this weekend after the 21-year-old impressed off the bench against the Rebels.
The Chiefs have managed only one win from their first three matches in the southern hemisphere competition.
They face a stiff test in Wellington against the Hurricanes, who have had two weeks off after the cancellation of their February 26 match against the Canterbury Crusaders following the devastating earthquake in Christchurch and a scheduled bye last week. –Reuters