Exploded muscle keeps Oliver out

Anton Oliver said: 'If I can't run, I can't play.' Picture / Mark Mitchell

A misdiagnosis of his calf injury has set back Anton Oliver's hopes of being fit for the Tri-Nations series.

The Highlanders hooker seemed a sure bet for the Lions series before damaging his ankle against the Crusaders on May 7 in the penultimate round of the Super 12.

The initial prognosis was that Oliver would be out of action for about six weeks, making him touch and go at best for last weekend's opening test. Then he was ruled out of contention eight days before the test.

"We had a scan five weeks after the injury and that confirmed it had kind of been misdiagnosed early on," the former All Black captain said yesterday.

"It was a different kind of injury, which is down into the Achilles. The closest one of the medical staff has described it to me is my muscle exploded."

Oliver, 29, and with 43 tests behind him, said he could not walk properly almost eight weeks after the injury and still had a limp.

He admitted he had been disappointed by the diagnosis because, as he put it: "The goalposts for me were here [the Lions]".

Oliver said that had he known from the first couple of weeks that he was unlikely to beat the clock, it would have been easier to deal with the disappointment.

His problem now is not having a clear idea when he will be ready to play again.

"No one really knows. We're hoping for the Tri-Nations but until I walk properly, am able to do calf raises ... I can't run, and if I can't run I can't play."

The Tri-Nations which starts on August 6 against South Africa at Cape Town.

Oliver said he would need to play some rugby at a lower level as well, so sorting out a time frame was tricky.

Oliver also slammed the focus on All Black captain Tana Umaga and his involvement in the tour-ending injury for Lions captain Brian O'Driscoll.

"We're disappointed at this juvenile and transparent attempt at destabilising our team and our campaign. Hopefully everything will calm down and we can just be a bunch of overgrown adolescents throwing a ball around."