The Crusaders face a nervy wait over the fitness of All Blacks lock Sam Whitelock, days out from the start of the Super Rugby Pacific playoffs.
On Saturday, veteran Whitelock didn't return after halftime in the Crusaders' 27-26 defeat to the Hurricanes in Wellington, as coach Scott Robertson revealed the 34-year-old was battling an issue with his Achilles tendon.
"[It was] a niggly Achilles, so we pulled him," Robertson said on Saturday. "It's not like him to complain, so we made the change."
While the exact nature of Whitelock's concern was given away by Robertson, an Achilles issue can rule a player out for anywhere between two weeks and six months, depending on the severity.
Whitelock's exit came after halfback Mitchell Drummond was ruled out before kickoff with a calf complaint.
Any further injury losses for the Crusaders would be nothing short of disastrous.
Already, All Blacks Sevu Reece, Joe Moody, George Bower, David Havili, Fletcher Newell are out for the rest of the season, with mixed news on their international campaigns as well.
But amid the possibility of losing Whitelock in particular to that list, the Crusaders say no risks will be taken as they build towards facing Fijian Drua in Christchurch on Saturday.
"Good question," said Crusaders assistant coach Tamati Ellison when asked of his players' fitness.
"We're building them through the week. We've got a long week this week and three training days.
"We'll assess them today and see who's right to get through training. And then [we're] really aiming to have everyone on board for that sparring day on Thursday.
"Any time someone comes off it's a concern. With Sam Whitelock, we don't want to take a risk."
The Crusaders will name their side to face Fijian Drua on Thursday, before their quarter-final on Saturday night.
Join us at 7pm Saturday for live updates of the Crusaders v Drua Super Rugby Pacific quarter-final
