Queensland Reds trump card Suliasi Vunivalu could be out of action until the Super Rugby AU finals after injuring his hamstring in Saturday’s defeat of the NSW Waratahs.
The NRL premiership winger has made good strides since shifting from the Melbourne Storm and was on Sunday included in the Wallabies’ 40-man training squad to gather next month in preparation for Tests against France in July.
Reds football boss Sam Cordingley said the strike weapon could be holstered for up to a month, with Vunivalu potentially only returning for the Reds’ final regular season game on April 23 ahead of the Super Rugby AU final.
In a best-case scanrio, he appears set to miss Saturday’s game against the Melbourne Rebels and next week’s date with the Brumbies, which will be played in Brisbane unless COVID-19 restrictions demand otherwise.
“He’s got a minor hamstring twinge and it’s under management,” Cordingly said.
“It’ll be under a month at this stage; we’ve got pretty good medical staff that have brought players back in good time … hopefully between two and four weeks.”
Due to Brisbane’s three-day COVID-19 lockdown, the squad have remained in Sydney after Saturday’s 46-14 defeat of the Waratahs, who have since axed coach Rob Penney.
Cordingley said the team would train in Sydney before flying to Melbourne later this week.
Malo
Guest
When your contract is so large you become an automatic wallaby
PeterK
Roar Guru
fine, WHEN he does THEN he deserves to be talked about as a wallaby, currently he is well behind.
Terry Tavita
Roar Pro
good buy..will be awesome for the wallabies..
Bentnuc
Roar Pro
The real shame will be if he doesnt play anymore until he gets brought back for the kiwi teams. He will be a big target in defense. Always going to be a waste of money when you already have good wings anyway. Gifting him a Wallaby Jersey is an insult to players who have had to work their way up. Koribete had a shocking first couple of years in rugby in my opinion and just found his feet the last 2 and is playing very well now. However, he was taking a spot in the Wallabies and Rebels while learning the game. Because of the bad first two years I’d say he is just breaking even overall now. Not a great return on investment. On the flipside look at a bloke like Hunter Paisami. Had to work real hard to get where he is and got a lucky break with the injury to Paisami. There are a lot more gems like him out there who just need the chance.
TheAceOfSpades
Guest
Give him time, he will dominate
Tooly
Roar Rookie
Another waste of money.
PeterK
Roar Guru
I see it more on defense, he has no idea where he should be or where he should be running / covering.
James GC
Roar Rookie
You can tell by how lost he is when being penalised, you always see teammates coming up to him and desribing where he went wrong.
PeterK
Roar Guru
IMO he hasn’t played well at all, nor is he improving that quickly. Still lost positionally, poor defense, and lacks evasiveness. Very fast in straight lines though. Team will be better with Stewart starting.
Butcher
Roar Rookie
I feel for Vunivalu as he was playing (developing) very well. Flip the coin and on the positive side, it means Stewart will come back into the side and push Petaia out to the wing.