Rugby League: Roosters sure Barnett will return in 10 weeks

SYDNEY - Kiwis skipper Richie Barnett was discharged from a Sydney hospital yesterday with his club confident he would be back in action before the end of the National Rugby League season.

Sydney Roosters chief executive Bernie Gurr said Barnett was likely to be out for up to 10 weeks - a much more optimistic estimate than the New Zealand Rugby League's suggested four months.

Gurr also rejected a suggestion that a mouthguard would have lessened the seriousness of the facial injuries the fullback suffered in the Anzac test on Good Friday.

Barnett, 29 on the day of the test, was left with fractured cheekbones and a broken nose after clashing heads with Kangaroo winger Wendell Sailor.

He underwent a six-hour operation to insert 18 plates in his face and there were fears that he could be out of the running for the World Cup in October.

But Gurr said Barnett would "definitely" be back before the end of the season.

"Eight to 10 weeks is what the doctors are telling us," he said. "The injuries are serious, but he's well enough to go home."

Gurr described the collision as a freak accident.

"He just happened to catch Sailor's head flush on the cheekbone area with full force."

Gurr said a mouthguard would not have made any difference.

"The use of a mouthguard in this situation was, for all intents and purposes, irrelevant," he said.

"He was smashed across the upper face, nose and cheekbone area, not across the mouth or jawbone. If he had four teeth knocked out, I'd say 100 per cent that it was a factor, but it just wasn't."

Gurr was responding to comments by Wellington dentist and former All Black Earle Kirton, who said Barnett's injuries would not have been as severe if he had been wearing a mouthguard.

"They are compulsory now for rugby union players and you lose out on insurance if you don't wear one," Kirton said.

Kiwi manager Gary Cooksley confirmed that Barnett did not use a mouthguard during the test. He said Barnett had experienced problems breathing when using a mouthguard and had not been able to find a model to suit him.

New Zealand team doctor Tony Edwards also doubted that a mouthguard would have helped Barnett.

"In Richard's case the blow from Wendell's head was directly on to his nose.

"That dissipated the force across his cheekbones and fractured that area," Edwards said.

Earlier, NZRL chief executive Gary Allcock said Barnett's injuries could take up to four months to heal, leaving him little time to regain match fitness for the World Cup.

- NZPA