Surgery unlikely for Afoa back injury

Auckland prop John Afoa has received a good news-bad news medical bulletin this week on his damaged back.

The All Black front rower suffered a small disc bulge during Saturday's 22-all Air New Zealand Cup draw with Waikato at Eden Park.

Discs, backs and props tend to be a bad combination in the same sentence, and Afoa may be gone for the remainder of the competition. Auckland have a maximum of five games left this season.

He might also be a doubtful starter for the All Blacks' end-of-year tour of France, England and Wales.

But the upside is 22-year-old Afoa, who played two tests against Ireland and Scotland last year, is unlikely to require surgery.

Afoa is in much less discomfort than he was on Saturday night, but the tricky factor is accurately gauging a time frame for his return. The usual recuperation period can vary between two and six weeks.

Experienced Nick White or up-and-comer Chris Heard are the likely alternatives to replace Afoa against Otago at Eden Park on Saturday night.

Down the motorway, in-form flanker Liam Messam brought a smile to Waikato officials' faces yesterday when he was cleared to play against Wellington on Saturday.

Messam took a blow to the face against Auckland and there were fears he might have fractured a cheekbone.

An MRI scan yesterday was good news for Waikato. The damage was no more than a black eye and some soreness so the former New Zealand Colts and Sevens representative will be ready to continue an excellent Air New Zealand Cup campaign.

The news on Colts first five-eighth William Ripia is bad. He will be unable to start running for at least four months, and perhaps six, after an operation yesterday to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon.

Ripia, who picked up the injury against Auckland, is doubly unlucky in the exact location of the injury.

"It was quite high in the tendon muscle area," Waikato's director of sports science and conditioning Nick Gill said yesterday. "It's a worse injury than if it was lower on the Achilles. Four months is best case scenario for a low rupture, so it's probably more likely to be five to six months."

That means 21-year-old Ripia is out for at least the first half of the Super 14, but could be selected in Waikato's wider training group to aid his recovery. If he makes rapid progress, game time late in the competition is not out of the question.

"He could be playing in March, but no one knows how he'll progress. It's a nasty injury," Gill added.

Waikato are awaiting scan results on senior hooker Tom Willis, who sprained an ankle against Auckland. The ankle is tender and his chances of making the starting XV against Wellington appear slim.