All Blacks: Hansen backs Naholo's Fijian treatment

Waisake Naholo. Photo / Getty Images.

Waisake Naholo's traditional treatment on a broken leg which he hopes will allow him to play for the All Blacks at the World Cup has coach Steve Hansen's full approval.

Naholo, given a three-month rehabilitation period by the All Blacks medics after cracking a fibula in the Rugby Championship test against Argentina in Christchurch five weeks ago, hopes to shorten that considerably by undertaking a treatment in Nadroga, Fiji, which makes use of locally-grown plants.

Naholo has said he has already lost his limp and is confident of a full recovery in a matter of days.

Hansen, who said in Christchurch after the test it was unlikely that Naholo would make the World Cup, which starts next month, said: "I know of the treatment, because I was over there not that long ago and they were talking about it, ironically before Waisake got injured. And they swear by it so who are we to pooh-pooh traditional medicine - the Chinese have been doing it for years.

"The thing that excites me the most though is that we've got a quality player like Waisake who is desperate to do whatever he can to get himself right, and if it works I'm a believer. I don't care what he's doing - if it's making him feel he'll get better and he does get better we've got one more person we can select."

Asked what Highlanders wing Naholo would have to do to prove his fitness for the World Cup squad, Hansen said: "Our medical people would have to do all the X-rays and do checks on him and have a real understanding of what he can and can't do."

The All Blacks squad will be named in Wellington on August 30, with Hansen saying it wouldn't be confirmed until potentially 12 hours before the announcement.

In Naholo's absence, Hurricanes wing Nehe Milner-Skudder has excelled, scoring two tries on debut against Australia and retaining his place for Saturday's Bledisloe Cup decider at Eden Park.