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All Black Braydon Ennor has torn his ACL and will be out of rugby for up to nine months, New Zealand Rugby (NZR) confirmed on Tuesday.
Crusaders midfielder Ennor was included in the 35-man All Blacks squad on Sunday, but injured his right knee in Saturday’s North-South game.
NZR said Ennor, who started center in the South’s dramatic 38-35 win in Wellington, would see a specialist in the next few days after a scan confirmed an anterior cruciate ligament tear.
Hagen Hopkins / Getty Images
Braydon Ennor’s season ended after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament.
Ennor was in pain early in the first half before he was helped off the field and did not return.
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This is not the first time that Ennor has suffered a torn ACL. He suffered the same injury as a schoolboy in 2015.
“It is very disappointing for Braydon, but he is a strong young man and we will support him in his surgery and rehabilitation for the next several months,” All Blacks coach Ian Foster said in a statement.
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Braydon Ennor fell in the first half of the North v South match.
Foster said the All Blacks would not name a replacement until they receive confirmation of a testing schedule for this year, which will be announced this week after so much uncertainty for the sports schedule due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Ennor played his only test from the bench in Argentina last year and was not selected for the Rugby World Cup in Japan.
The 23-year-old was one of four midfielders selected in Foster’s All Blacks first team with Jack Goodhue, Rieko Ioane and Anton Lienert-Brown.
He was scheduled to join Canterbury this week for the first round of the 10 Miter Cup, but his season is over and injury could rule him out until next June.
Kai Schwoerer / Getty Images
Braydon Ennor has won three Super Rugby titles with the Crusaders.
It’s a heavy blow to the product of St Kentigern College, which re-signed with NZR and the Crusaders until 2023 in May. He left Auckland for Christchurch in 2016 and has not looked back.
Ennor made his provincial debut with Canterbury in 2017 and was a revelation for the Crusaders on the wing during his first Super Rugby season in 2018.
Crusaders coach Scott Robertson moved him to his preferred center position this year to form a lethal midfield partnership with Goodhue.
At the Crusaders, Ennor has won three Super Rugby titles in his first seasons at that level.
