KEY POINTS:
Tuesday looms as 'DC'-Day in the All Blacks bid to have their star first five-eighth fit for the quarter-final.
Dan Carter sent anxiety levels soaring in New Zealand supporters when he was withdrawn from the All Blacks team that played Romania here in Toulouse overnight.
The 25-year-old noticed
a tightening in his left calf, his kicking leg, while training at Aix-en-Provence on Thursday. He continued to train but when he awoke on Friday the muscle had stiffened up.
On Friday, Carter told reporters at an adidas-sponsored event that he would have a scan today on the leg and if that didn't indicate any damage, he would attempt to run on it tomorrow.
Coach Graham Henry was optimistic that Carter would be fit for the quarterfinal at Cardiff, most likely against tournament hosts France.
"We don't think it is particularly serious, we're hopeful he'll be right for next week and we will have a further update on Tuesday," Henry said.
"The medical staff have looked at it and we decided it was not the right thing for him to play tomorrow and we'll see how he responds over the next two or three days and we'll have a good idea where he is at on Tuesday."
Of the nightmare scenarios facing Henry, an injury to Carter at the sharp end of the tournament would probably rank behind only an injury to captain Richie McCaw. Carter, the World Player of the Year in 2005, has not been in the best kicking form - missing five of nine attempts last weekend at Murrayfield - but is still the pivot around which the All Blacks attack revolves.
There is concern that Carter may miss the quarter-final, too, because the All Blacks medical staff have so far taken a cautious approach to bringing players back from muscle injuries. Keith Robinson missed the first three matches with a strained calf, while Mils Muliaina has not played after damaging his hamstring in the first few minutes of the All Blacks second pool match against Portugal.
Carter wanted to use the Romania match to re-ignite his attacking game. The No 10 said he had been content to play the role of distributor so far but was looking to run the ball at the line more as the tournament progressed.
The injury will come as a blow to Carter, who felt he needed more game time ahead of the knockout phase.
"[Graham Henry] asked me if I was keen and I said 'yeah'. I prefer playing and getting a few games under my belt."