When All Blacks flanker Ardie Savea saw his doctor post-knee surgery, he was hit with an unusual appeal.
"No more TikToks".
Since its launch, Savea has been an active user of the app TikTok, now boasting 80,000 followers and 368,000 video likes.
For those unfamiliar with the app, TikTok is a social media platform where users create, share and discover short music-based videos.
Savea posted multiple videos dancing to famous TikTok tunes just weeks after having knee surgery for an injury he sustained during the All Blacks' Rugby World Cup semi final loss to England last year.
When speaking about his recovery at the Super Rugby launch in Auckland, Savea said his doctor wasn't impressed.
"I've been doing TikTok's lately and they require some dance moves and went in the other day and my doctor told me off," Savea said.
"I'm doing all these TikTok's and people are saying 'um aren't you supposed to be injured?' But it's just fun. It takes me like a minute and it's just get on there, have some fun, cater to the younger generation."
Savea, who is expected to remain sidelined for the Hurricanes for most of the upcoming Super Rugby season, opened up on some of the internal struggles he faced post-surgery.
He said it's been a more frustrating time than he anticipated.
"Before I got the injury I thought that I'd be okay if I got a massive injury because I've got a lot of things going on off the field but I actually really struggled," he said.
"I love to be active, I like to go out for walks and not being able to do that for four weeks, five weeks was quite tough for me mentally.
"Once I started to be able to walk, I started to find that I was feeling better and just in the right mental space, so it has been learning for me but a reset too."
Savea was unsure of when to expect a return to the field and said he'd be taking things one step at a time.
"I know you've got to look after the knee because it can come back and bite you in the bum so I'm just going to do everything I can do get it right," he said.
"Making sure it's fully right and then whenever that is, come back."
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