A Wellington Football Club Colts grade player is in Wellington Hospital in an induced coma following a serious incident during a match at Ngati Toa Domain on Saturday, May 13.
Although no single incident has been identified as the cause of the player's injury, witnesses have reported the player was involved in a collision during the first half of the match.
There are no allegations of foul play.
The player was removed from the field late in the match after teammates noticed he was displaying worrying symptoms during a stoppage in play.
Shortly after leaving the field his condition deteriorated rapidly and ambulance officers already at the ground attended to the player. He was taken to Wellington Hospital where he underwent brain surgery on Saturday night.
Since then he has remained in a critical condition.
Wellington Rugby chief executive Steve Rogers said the organisation's main focus at this time is providing support to the player's family, his club, and the wider rugby community affected by this tragic event.
Wellington Rugby was working with the New Zealand Rugby Foundation and New Zealand Rugby to ensure full support, including counselling had been made available to all of the parties involved.
At this stage the injured player's name will not be released at the request of his family, who have asked that media respect their privacy during a difficult time.
It remains unclear precisely what led to the player's head injury, but an inquiry is already underway involving both Wellington Rugby and New Zealand Rugby.