Carter waits for decision on surgery

Dan Carter will liaise with New Zealand’s medical staff to ascertain whether he requires surgery on the Achilles tendon injury that has ended not only his season but also his time in France with Perpignan.

The All Blacks fly-half was yesterday ruled out for around six months after sustaining a ruptured Achilles in the final seconds of Saturday’s 13-13 draw against Stade Francais in Paris.

With his seven-month stint with the Catalans ending in June, his European sabbatical is over after just five games in a USAP shirt.

The All Blacks’ medical team will now run the rule over Carter’s recovery and will hope to get him back fit for July, when the Tri-Nations begins.

“Daniel Carter will continue with talks in collaboration with the All Blacks’ medical staff this week to establish if the injury requires surgical intervention or not,” read a USAP statement.

The post-mortem has already begun regarding the injury suffered by the Kiwi.

The match against Stade was Carter’s first for three weeks, as he had been sidelined with a similar complaint for most of January.

Having played just five matches in two months, Perpignan would have wanted to get their money’s worth from Carter, who is believed to be pocketing around 700,000 euros from his half-year in France.

But Perpignan president Paul Goze insists Carter was not rushed back to action prematurely for the showpiece at the Stade de France, played in front of close to 80,000 spectators.

“I said to them that if it (his Achilles) hurt, it wasn’t imperative he played, even if it was against Paris (Stade Francais),” Goze said.

“At half-time, we again asked him and he replied that it didn’t hurt.”

Carter delivered at the weekend his finest performance for Perpignan, seeing off Juan Martin Hernandez in a duel between the world’s two best fly-halves, although it was the Argentinian’s tackle that caused the recurrence of Carter’s nagging Achilles problem.

Perpignan have suffered a massive setback with the loss of their prized asset but have already had to start looking to the future, particularly with the two other fly-halves in their squad – Steve Meyer and Nicolas Laharrague – out injured.

“I have been thinking since Saturday about bringing in a loan replacement,” added Goze.

“I have two or three ideas. But we aren’t going to take on a player who is worse than what we have.”

The New Zealand Rugby Union, meanwhile, have vowed to support Carter throughout his rehabilitation.

The 26-year-old missed the 2009 Super 14 season having been given a six-month sabbatical from his NZRU contract to play in France.

“It’s hugely disappointing for Dan,” All Blacks manager Darren Shand said. “He was really enjoying playing in France.

“He’s getting fantastic support from the Perpignan team who have been really supportive and keeping us well briefed.

“Dan’s now resting at home in Perpignan and it’s probable that he will need surgery but a full assessment will be made over the next few days.”

Shand added that Carter will not be rushed back from his injury and that the NZRU will do all they can to ensure he makes a full recovery.

“As a general rule of thumb, players who suffer a severe Achilles injury are out of rugby for at least six months but it can be longer,” he said.

“Dan will return to rugby when he is ready and we will support him throughout his rehabilitation.”