All Blacks suffer devasting injury blow as Caleb Clarke heads home

New Zealand wing Caleb Clarke was ruled out of the four-Test series with South Africa on Saturday, adding to a mounting injury toll two games into the All Blacks’ tour.

Scans revealed experienced winger Clarke suffered a shoulder tendon injury during the 54-0 win over the Sharks in Durban on Tuesday.

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He will return home for surgery, with no timeline put on his return to the playing field.

New Zealand coach Dave Rennie said there would be no injury replacement for Clarke, who has scored 16 tries in 35 Tests.

“We are comfortable with the outside backs cover we have at the moment, so will not be bringing another squad member in to replace Caleb unless further injuries necessitate it,” Rennie said in a statement.

“We are all feeling for Caleb and really sorry to see his Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour come to an early end. He’s an important member of our group, both on and off-field, so we look forward to him making a full recovery.”

Returned home

Two other New Zealand players have already returned home with injuries.

Billy Proctor injured his shoulder in the tour-opening win over the Stormers in Cape Town last week while hooker George Bell suffered a calf knock at training.

Both players were replaced – by 56-Test flyhalf Richie Mo’unga and uncapped hooker Bradley Slater.

The first of four Tests against the world champion Springboks is at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on Saturday, August 22.