Injuries hobble All Black hopefuls

Sione Lauaki's involvement in the All Blacks' mid-year programme is disappearing while the test aspirations of fellow loose forward Troy Flavell remain on hold.

Both players had appointments with surgeons yesterday to evaluate the extent of the shoulder damage which has removed both from the Super 14.

Flavell had not received the results of his scans late last night but Lauaki had collected a pessimistic diagnosis.

His pectoral muscle tear was labelled as "serious" in a statement released from his Chiefs franchise.

The abrasive Lauaki will seek a second opinion but it is highly likely he will undergo an operation to repair the damage.

Surgery would eliminate him from rugby for about three months.

The 24-year-old had been in bruising form for the Chiefs at No 8 this season until he was injured during the draw against the Bulls in Hamilton.

If Lauaki needs surgery he will join a growing list of casualties who will miss the All Blacks' opening tests against Ireland, Argentina and the Tri-Nations.

That group includes Conrad Smith, James Ryan and Angus Macdonald while there is doubt whether Nick Evans will recover in time from his collarbone damage.

The Chiefs also revealed that midfielders David Hill, Mark Ranby and fullback Mils Muliaina would not heal in time for Friday's match in Hamilton against the Cheetahs.

Meanwhile Blues flanker Flavell was waiting to hear if he would be the latest member of that undesirable catalogue.

He hurt his left shoulder during the Blues' latest win against the Force and was quickly scratched from the squad travelling for three games in South Africa.

The Blues' first opponent on their road trip is the Sharks. The sides have a strong history since they met in the first Super final in 1996. The Blues won that match at Eden Park but captain Zinzan Brooke felt they won the title two weeks earlier when they beat the Sharks 30-23 in the final pool game.

Since then the sides have been involved in some epics but the Sharks have not beaten the Blues since 2002.