Thomas Leuluai has been ruled out for the rest of the Kiwis' Four Nations campaign after he suffered a fractured jaw in this morning's match against Scotland. Photo / Photosport
New Zealand's disappointing 18-18 Four Nations draw with Scotland has been compounded by a tournament-ending injury to Thomas Leuluai.
The Wigan-bound stand-off came off after 57 minutes clutching his face, and was later diagnosed with a double fracture of the jaw.
Kiwis coach David Kidwell confirmed the seriousness of the injury after the match.
"Thomas Leuluai has broken his jaw in two places," he said.
"We've got a duty of care to make sure everything is all right with him and his family."
Kidwell said the rest of the squad had come through the match unscathed, and his focus now was on recovery and preparation.
If New Zealand are to make next week's final in Liverpool they need Australia to beat England at the London Stadium on Sunday, with England going through if they down the Kangaroos.
Kidwell said although the draw with Scotland was disappointing, the Kiwis were focused on managing their recovery rather than worrying about the outcome of the final Australia-England match.
"We're worried about the recovery for these boys at the moment, and whatever happens on Sunday happens," he said.
"It definitely won't impact on our confidence - one thing's that really good about this group is that we all stick together."
Scotland made rugby league history with the late draw, becoming the first minnow nation to claim a Four Nations point.
The Kiwis had led 6-4 at halftime on the back of winger David Fusitu'a's try, and looked to have the match secure when two Gerard Beale tries within three minutes gave them an 18-12 lead with four minutes remaining.
But Issac Luke's missed conversions left a glimmer of hope for the Scots, and Euan Aitken made the most of it with a try two minutes from the final whistle, with Danny Brough's conversion earning Scotland a share of the spoils.
Kidwell said the Kiwis could have no argument with the final result.
"Scotland played well - they played to the conditions, and we got away with the draw.
"They had more energy at times and a couple of penalties on the fifth tackle really hurt us, especially when we had good line speed."
The New Zealanders were hit harder than Scotland in the penalty count, and Kidwell said that was something they'd be looking at closer.
"I think the final count was 10-5, and I didn't think we were that bad to be honest - it's something we'll have to have a look at."
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