The All Blacks may be without lock Sam Whitelock, when they kick off their 2023 test season against Argentina next weekend.
The 143-test veteran didn't participate in Wednesday's training at Go Media Stadium Mt Smart, four days after his player-of-the-match performance for the Crusaders in their Super Rugby Pacific triumph over the Chiefs at Hamilton.
The game was Whitelock's first since suffering an Achilles tendon injury in the Crusaders' final round-robin contest against the Hurricanes.
Crusaders coach Scott Robertson revealed that Whitelock, 32, had defied doctor's orders to play the final, risking aggravation of the injury and jeopardising his availability for the World Cup later this year.
His status for the final was in doubt until matchday, when he eventually declared himself ready to take the field for his Crusaders swansong, ending a 14-year tenure that included seven Super Rugby titles. He'll join French Top 14 team Pau after the World Cup.
Coach Ian Foster has stopped short of saying he'd prefer Whitelock - one of his most experienced players - sat out the final, but appears frustrated by the situation now facing him.
"Obviously, he played during that recovery period, so we've just got to see how he transitions the next week or two," said Foster.
"He made a decision based on all the medical advice he got, and - in many senses - rolled the dice and got through it, but he's not right to train today, so we've just got to deal with what we've got now."
Foster says the All Blacks medical staff will assess Whitelock over coming days, but the indication from Whitelock is that his troublesome Achilles is still "pretty sore".
Whitelock's absence would be far from ideal for an All Blacks team desperate to hit the ground running, when they begin the Rugby Championship at Mendoza on July 9 (NZ time).
After two weeks on the sidelines, Whitelock admits he's felt the pinch of a full 80-minute outing in a torrid encounter against the Chiefs, where he was - given the occasion - determined to at least put his Achilles to the test.
"It was a little bit rough on the lungs, but I wanted to get out there and give it a go, and I got through," he said.
In other injury news out of All Blacks camp, Hurricanes prop Tevita Mafileo has been called in as cover for recovering Fletcher Newell, who's "progressing well" in his return from the toe surgery that ended his Super Rugby season after the opening round.
Mark Telea is still working his way back to full health from a calf strain sustained during the Super Rugby semi-final, while fellow wing Leicester Fainga'anuku is also suffering from a tight calf.
That means Shaun Stevenson - who was named as injury cover for the Rugby Championship - will remain with the 36-strong squad and, along with Mafielo, is a "strong likelihood" to travel to Mendoza on Sunday.
Foster confirms there will be no midfield replacement named for Anton-Lienert-Brown, who will miss the entire Rugby Championship, due to a high-tackle ban from the Super Rugby final.
With most of the squad still bruised and battered from the competition showpiece at FMG Stadium, Foster admits he took a cautious approach to training, but considering the condensed Rugby Championship schedule, he's eager to grasp every opportunity available to build cohesion before the World Cup.
"There's probably 40 percent of the team feeling fresh, but we're used to that ," he noted. "It's a tough time transitioning from one campaign to the other.
"You've got to get everyone on the same page and used to a different language. People have to deal with the emotions of big finals, so it's business as norma,l I guess, in that sense.
"We haven't got a formula that says the finalists won't play this week. I think we're keen to build some combinations, but we've also got to tread that line between looking at what we've got this week and seeing where the energy levels are."
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