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international
Bosses and All black people winger Leroy Carter will miss the rest of the 2026 campaign after ankle surgery following a serious ankle injury at Eden Park.
Carter suffered a high ankle injury while scoring in the second half of the first Bledisloe Cup Test at Eden Park against the Wallabies.
The winger stormed towards the line after Peter Lakai’s inbounds from the base of the ruck, before Wallabies loose forward Rob Valitini fell on Carter’s shin in an attempt to prevent the All Blacks from scoring.
Carter was helped off the field and ruled out of the second Bledisloe Cup Test in Sydney a week later, before word of his injury came on Monday night.
Carter joins a long list of injured All Blacks who will miss the rest of the 2026 campaign, including captain Ardie Save, Chiefs captain Luke Jacobson and front five Ruben Love.
There is also an injury cloud surrounding Ethan Blackadder, Patrick Tuipulotu, Richie Mo’unga, Shannon Frizell and Samisoni Taukei’aho, who are all doubts for Dave Rennie’s end-of-year tour.
Anton Segner, Asafo Aumua and Quinn Tupaea are expected to be named in the squad, even after the trio suffered concussions during the two Tests of the Bledisloe Cup series against their trans-Tasman rivals.
Taukei’aho left the field late in Sydney with calf tightness, just a quarter of an hour after coming off the bench, and could miss the tour if it is assessed to be a weeks-long injury.
Mo’unga’s calf injury also has a bad timeline for Rennie and the coaching staff, after the All Blacks head coach made it clear in Sydney that they believe he will Crusaders the top-five will be available for the final two tests Nations Championship tour but are unsure about the first two Tests against Scotland and Wales.
Frizell, who has just returned to the All Blacks environment, appeared to suffer a non-contact knee injury late on at Sydney’s Accor Stadium, going down in midfield after trying to take a tackle.
Jordie Barrett also missed the second Bledisloe Cup Test with calf tightness, but this was thought to be a precaution rather than a fresh injury.
The All Blacks will name what is expected to be a 34-36-man squad for their four-Test tour of Europe on Tuesday NZT, which includes games against Scotland at Murrayfield, Wales in Cardiff and England in London, ahead of the weekend’s final clash at the Allianz Stadium against an as-yet unspecified opponent.
