All Black scrum-half Weepu suffers minor stroke

By Peter O’ Dwyer

New Zealand and Blues scrum-half Piri Weepu has suffered a minor stroke that will keep him out of the game for at least four weeks.

The talismanic 71-Test veteran had been suffering from migraine-like headaches for a number of weeks before undergoing a scan on Monday.

Medical officials today confirmed that Weepu had suffered a stroke but are confident it is not as a result of playing rugby.

“This is a minor stroke and he is expected to make a full recovery,” said Auckland Blues doctor Stephen Kara.

“However any stroke is serious for anyone at any age and we must now take the time to fully understand the cause of it and the implications for Piri,” he added.

Weepu told Fairfax Media earlier this week that the headaches were more annoying than debilitating.

“I’ve basically been able to play through them,” he said. “During the week sometimes I’ve had bad ones and I’ve just got to lie down and give myself a bit of time off, or just sit down and take a breath and try to ease up a bit. I’m fine after that,” he said.

Weepu was a prominent figure in the All Black’s World Cup winning side of 2011 and led the Haka throughout the competition.