Rugby: Slade eyeing return for playoffs

Colin Slade of the Highlanders. Photo / Getty Images

Colin Slade and the Highlanders are in an ultra-tight scramble to make the Super 15 playoffs.

The one-test All Black is due to see a specialist about his repeat broken jaw in a fortnight as the series finishes its extended pool play programme.

"It's coming along really well, I'm pretty much back into full training in terms of weights and running and also the rest of it but still can't handle that contact aspect," Slade said yesterday.

"It is just a waiting game and as frustrating as it is, it is not quite ready for about another two weeks when I go and see the specialist. Hopefully by then it will be coming along and we will also know how we are going for semifinal footy or not.

"It's all a bit up in the air and I do not want to make the mistake of coming back too early."

Slade had four plates inserted in the fractures either side of his jaw after breaking it for the second time this season against the Rebels in mid-April.

The 23-year-old, who debuted for the All Blacks against the Wallabies last year, shifted away from the Crusaders and Daniel Carter's hold on the five-eighths role to get regular game time with the Highlanders and push for a World Cup place.

His season has been three Super matches, one club game and a pre-season match.

"You get a bit of a feel for how the jaw is and it is not quite right yet. You know when you are eating food that it is still quite weak, I am not biting food as hard as I normally would," he said.

"I know it is at least another two weeks away from being able to do that and the specialist will be able to give me some statistics about how strong it is and what the strength should be. He is quite hopeful but also says if I don't want to play, if I don't feel ready then he will support my decision.

"If he thinks mentally it is holding me back then he can tell me whether he thinks it is ready for me to play."

Slade has been out for six weeks and the prognosis for a return was about nine.

"They took out the glass jaw and put in a titanium one," he joked.

"A few of the boys have been calling me Wolverine, if you've seen the movie he gets his bones replaced by metal. Or Jaws, either or.

"It is frustrating watching the boys train and I am feeling good with the rest of my body but freak accidents can happen at training in the contact area so you do not want to tempt fate again. It is better to be safe than sorry and not rush back.

"At this stage I am probably not going to play but at this stage I am not going to lose hope. I feel a lot stronger and it probably hinges on how far we go in the tournament."