Kieran ReadAll Blacks captain Kieran Read could be left out of the three-match series against France in June to ensure he is fully recovered from the back surgery he had last year, coach Steve Hansen has said. Read had surgery last December on a protruding disc in his back that was pinching nerves and causing leg pain. "The issue with nerve damage is that you can't put an exact timeline on the recovery," Hansen told the New Zealand Herald on Saturday. If he doesn't play in Super Rugby or in the June series, so be it." Read's Super Rugby coach Scott Robertson told reporters earlier this week the number eight was likely to miss an initial target of mid-April for his return.

Source: Otago Daily Times March 24, 2018 01:18 UTC