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Lealiifano's season over
Injured ACT Brumbies flyhalf Christian Lealiifano will play no part in the remainder of the Super 14 season, even if his team secures a semi-final berth.
An MRI scan last week revealed the playmaker suffered a grade-two hamstring tear in the Brumbies' 32-31 win over the Pretoria Bulls.
He was initially ruled out for three weeks and expected to return in either the last game of the regular season against the Waikato Chiefs or the start of the finals.
But Brumbies physiotherapist Tim McGrath confirmed yesterday Lealiifano had played his last game of the season.
"The scans showed some fairly significant damage to the upper part of his hamstring," McGrath said. "He had a 50 per cent tear of the hamstring origin so [the] time frame for that is going to be a minimum of eight weeks.
"The initial three-week time frame was optimistic because you know it's a reasonable strain, but it's hard to quantify until you've got that MRI.
"Unfortunately his Super14 season is over."
The longer-than-expected stint on the sidelines means the 21-year-old has played his last game as the Brumbies' first choice No.10 for the next two Super 14 seasons.
Wallabies pivot Matt Giteau will return to Canberra next season and take over the flyhalf reins for the first match of 2010, barring injury or suspension. Gene Fairbanks and Matt Toomua will share the Brumbies' flyhalf duties for the remainder of this season.
