Highlanders breathe sigh of relief over Sopoaga's knee

SYDNEY (Reuters) - The Otago Highlanders have received a boost with the news that flyhalf Lima Sopoaga, who suffered a knee injury at a training camp, is set to take his place in their Super Rugby semi-final against the New South Wales Waratahs.





"He's fine. He just twisted his knee, it's a wee bit of a one off," coach Jamie Joseph told reporters in Sydney on Friday. "It was a wee bit of a scare for everybody, but he's fine and he's going to train today."

The 24-year-old, who has also been named in an extended All Blacks squad, had initially feared he might have to sit out Saturday's match against the defending champions.

"I think his body feels fine today and, as Jamie said, it was just a bit of a scare at the time," added Highlanders co-captain Ben Smith.

"Sometimes you just get a few things that you think are bad at the time, but give them a couple of hours and they come right and I think, for Lima, that was the case for him."

Sopoaga has provided a spark for the Highlanders this season, with his game management and tactical awareness growing to the point where All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said he felt a lot of the success of the side was down to his performances.

"Lima has come right on to his game this year," Hansen said when he named Sopoaga in his national squad on Sunday.

"He is one of the reasons why the Highlanders are going so well (and) it was too good an opportunity to miss to not give him an education (in the All Blacks environment)."

















(Reporting by Greg Stutchbury in Wellington; Editing by Peter Rutherford)


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