Injured Northland loose forward Matt Harrison attended the team's post-match review under his own steam yesterday, much to the relief of teammates and anyone who had watched television replays of his injury in the match against Waikato on Saturday evening.
Harrison injured his neck in a ruck toward the end of
the match, which may see him wear an immobilising collar for a week or two, but that will be something of a relief because the injury initially seemed a lot more serious.
"The x-rays have come back clear and at this stage it seems likely it was just ligament damage and bruising, but they've had a CT-scan and are waiting for further reports," said coach Bryce Woodward.
"We're just so pleased he's up and walking around already and his initial prognosis is that he'll be back into training in the new year," he said.
Woodward is looking to replace Harrison with someone from the development team for training this week, ahead of the Hawke's Bay game, as cover in case the forward pack's injury crisis deepens further.
With two of the three specialist locks, Cam Jowitt and Pat O'Connor, doubtful for the match, development team lock Steve Baker will also train with the team. Should Baker start the game, then Roy Griffin may have to cover lock, meaning there will be a gap among the loose forwards.
Woodward hasn't given up on getting Bronson Murray back on Okara Park for the final match of the season, but said it was only a possibility at this stage and would depend on him training freely this week.
The side has limited time to train before the match, with a six-day turnaround and will manage just one full session before the captain's run on Thursday.
