Injured Chiefs and All Blacks midfielder Quinn Tupaea is tracking well for a return to the field tearing his ACL in Bledisloe I last year.
The 23-year-old had cemented himself in Ian Foster’s All Blacks squad before he was taken out by Wallabies lock Darcy Swain in a dangerous cleanout.
Multiple ligament injuries along with the torn ACL were sustained, ruling Tupaea out of not only the remainder of the 2022 international season but also the current Super Rugby Pacific competition.
Seven months into his expected nine-month recovery, Tupaea says he is finally seeing progress in his rehab and can now run just below full pace.
“In the last two weeks I’ve started some change of direction stuff and it’s going really well,” Tupaea told SENZ The Run Home.
“I’m just below sprinting pace and doing swerves and cuts and steps and ticking up about six or seven kilometres every second day so I’m pretty happy with where my knee is tracking.
“It’s in a good spot at the moment.”
While he is tracking well in his recovery, Tupaea says he is in no rush to force his return to play.
The midfielder understands his chances of making the 2023 Rugby World Cup will dwindle the longer he is on the sidelines, but will take his time to recover properly to give himself the best shot at making the squad.
“At the moment my return is around July 10, so if it’s a couple of weeks after that or a month after that I think it’s going to be Waikato pre-season,” he said.
“That’s sort of what I’m aiming for at the moment, but (there is) no real rush and no earlier than that date.”
Fellow midfield partners Anton Lienert-Brown and Alex Nankivell have also been out of action for the Chiefs, paving the way for rookies Rameka Poihipi and Daniel Rona.
The pair have formed a strong partnership in the middle in recent weeks, outplaying their Blues, Hurricanes and Crusaders counterparts to stretch the side’s unbeaten streak to nine this season.
While Tupaea is elated to see his teammates playing so well, he admits it is hard sitting on the sidelines while the Chiefs are carving up the competition,
“That’s the toughest part, seeing the boys win nine in a row is awesome but you always wish you could be out there,” he added.
Tupaea is expected to make his return in the 2023 NPC, where he will do his best to gain selection in Ian Foster’s World Cup squad for September.