Cardiff Rugby have confirmed Willis Halaholo's season appears to be over after the star centre suffered a hamstring injury that's expected to sideline him for up to 12 weeks.
It's another unfortunate blow for the player, who has struggled to gain momentum this term amid Covid-19 outbreaks and other fitness concerns. Auckland-born Halaholo suffered the injury during a Player-of-the-Match performance in Cardiff's 32-28 win over Glasgow Warriors on March 26.
The 31-year-old was one of three try-scorers for the Welsh hosts that day and outshone Theo Cabango despite the wing prospect's brace. Unfortunately, that Arms Park outing may prove to be the last of Halaholo's campaign.
Wales midfielder Halaholo took to Twitter in frustration at this most recent diagnosis, venting at the prospect of missing more minutes for his club. Director of rugby Dai Young's team are currently 13th in the United Rugby Championship standings and have only seven regular-season matches remaining.
"Just can’t catch a break this season," the centre wrote, highlighting his annoyance with a series of exasperated emojis. "One of the toughest parts about pro sport [especially] mentally. . .season pretty much over picking up an injury last week against Glasgow. . .back on the mend and support my @Cardiff_Rugby brothers."
Cardiff are 13 points off the URC's top eight as things stand and require a swift turnaround in form if they're to make the inaugural edition of the new-look competition's play-offs. Halaholo is a valued member of the XV and a fan favourite in the Welsh capital, currently in his sixth season as a Cardiff player.
Do you think Cardiff will make the URC play-offs this season? Let us know in the comments section.
He made his international debut for Wales in 2021 having previously represented Tonga at under-20 level. With his club prospects for the rest of this term looking bleak, his next chance at competitive rugby may be when Wayne Pivac's side embark on their tour of South Africa in late June.
The former Hurricanes hopeful was previously set to face birth nation New Zealand in October before Covid-19 ruled him out of their clash at the Principality Stadium. His only appearance of this year's Six Nations was as a starter in the crushing 22-21 defeat at home to Italy on the final day, his 10th Wales cap overall.
Halaholo signed a new 'long-term' contract with Cardiff in February 2021. While his setback is a major blow for Young's side ahead of Saturday's URC trip to the Scarlets, Cardiff welcome back the Wales trio of Josh Adams, Tomos Williams and Seb Davies, as well as Halaholo's usual centre partner, Rey Lee-Lo.
