JUST NOW:All Blacks update reveals which injured stars can make Springboks blockbuster

Nine All Blacks are currently in recovery mode ahead of the 2025 Rugby Championship, and the latest updates from within the camp have offered mostly good news, with no serious, season-ending injuries to note.

The longest any player is expected to be sidelined is eight weeks; that timeline belongs to young halfback Noah Hotham, who is awaiting surgery on a high ankle sprain. Should Hotham’s rehab go as planned, he would only be fit for the final game of The Rugby Championship against the Wallabies on October 4.

Frequent Test starters in 2024, prop Tyrel Lomax and wing Caleb Clarke are each looking at six-week spells on the sidelines. The Hurricanes prop’s ailment is a hand fracture for which surgery has been completed, while the Blues speedster is nursing a high ankle injury that did not require surgery. The six-week recovery period would rule the pair out of the opening three rounds of The Rugby Championship, including the All Blacks’ highly anticipated clash with the Springboks at Eden Park.

Luke Jacobson could be deemed fit in time for the Auckland blockbuster, but he is likely to miss the opening two rounds in Argentina with a thigh injury, for which a five-week recovery timeline has been given.

All Blacks captain Scott Barrett would be pleased to only miss one game of The Rugby Championship, as is expected after his calf tear against France. His expected timeline is three weeks.

Breakthrough Player of the Year Wallace Sititi owns the same timeline as his captain following his high ankle surgery, as does prop Tamaiti Williams, who has had a torn meniscus repaired that ruled him out of the July Series.

There’s better news for veteran playmaker Beauden Barrett, who should be just two weeks away from completing his recovery from a fractured hand. The team will no doubt exercise caution with their 137-cap star, given it’s the second left-hand fracture

he’s suffered this year.

Two weeks should also be enough time for rising star Tupou Vaa’i to make his return, with concussion protocols being the cause for his absence.

All Blacks injury timelines

Eight weeks: Noah Hotham

Six weeks: Tyrel Lomax, Caleb Clarke

Five weeks: Luke Jacobson

Three weeks: Scott Barrett, Wallace Sititi, Tamaiti Williams

Two weeks: Beauden Barrett, Tupou Vaa’i