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All Black and Blues midfielder Luke McAlister is booked for surgery today on a fractured cheekbone while test lock Chris Jack faces an anxious wait for results on his damaged knee.
The latest Super 14 damage aggravated the untidy efforts to integrate the protected All Blacks halfway through
the series. Those moves have not been seamless although the weekend results favoured all New Zealand sides except the Chiefs in their turf war with the Blues.
The fallout from that struggle was unfortunate for McAlister. An x-ray showed he had cracked his left cheekbone, an injury expected to be confirmed with a scan before surgery organised for this afternoon. It is the second serious facial injury for McAlister after he missed a month last season with a broken jaw.
"It does not look good again for Luke," Blues coach David Nucifora said. "If things pan out as we expect he is probably out for three or four weeks.
"We hope we will get him back in about three or four weeks for the last round in pool play."
Nucifora admitted the Blues were suspicious about how McAlister's injury occurred and scanned a number of camera angles to see what caused the damage.
"We wondered if it had been intentional, we had our doubts, we had some concerns but we think it was accidental," the coach said.
Meanwhile, Jack is set for an MRI scan in Christchurch today to check his left knee after he damaged it in an early accidental collision against the Waratahs.
The only other Crusaders' injury was to their pride after they struggled to a one-point win when they had the match won in the first quarter.
That was the problem, it was almost too easy and they became complacent. It showed with captain Richie McCaw taking shortcuts and being penalised far too often for someone of his class.
Competition leaders the Blues have a few other medical issues to sort out before their Good Friday clash with the Cheetahs.
Loosehead prop Tony Woodcock wrenched his wrist and missed the last 15 minutes at Hamilton, while captain Troy Flavell did not start the match because of a groin strain.
"We'll see how Troy is for this week. We're hopeful but the rest won't have hurt him," Nucifora said.
Instead of replacing Flavell with reconditioned All Black lock Ali Williams, the coach picked regular squad member Anthony Boric to start, with Williams and last season's skipper Keven Mealamu used for impact in the last 30 minutes.
The tactic worked with Mealamu scoring one try and making the break and offload to Doug Howlett for the wing's record 58th try in Super rugby, a touchdown which secured the Blues' first win in four attempts against the Chiefs.
Another selection variation involving the protected All Blacks came at the Hurricanes, where test halfback Piri Weepu was chosen at first five-eighths in a very public admission about the lack of success of Jimmy Gopperth and Blair Stewart.
Weepu's ability to complete the task said something for his temperament, the Bulls' impotence away from the set piece and the way rugby has mirrored the straight line defences of rugby league, a game Weepu understands and wants to return to.
Apparently the Hurricanes intend to persevere with Weepu at five-eighths after their Easter bye.
Whether they persist with another World Cup hopeful, Ma'a Nonu, may depend on Tana Umaga's fitness.
For a test squad contender, Nonu's sloppy ball retention against the Bulls was a reminder of his shortcomings.
