Bleyendaal’s Munster arrival on hold until 2015

Crusaders first-five-eight Tyler Bleyendaal has been ruled out until the end of the year due to a neck injury sustained while playing ITM Cup rugby which will delay his availability for his new club Munster.

Bleyendaal has been ruled out of the rest of the ITM Cup season with a neck injury after he suffered a prolapsed disc in his neck and will receive surgery shortly to correct it.

Bleyendaal has been unavailable for selection due to a sore neck since he played against Waikato in the second round of the competition. A scan has revealed the prolapsed disc as being the cause of the problem.

The long-term prognosis is uncertain until surgery has been completed and the neck has had time to recover, however it is hoped that Bleyendaal would be able to return to play sometime in 2015.

Bleyendaal says he is hugely disappointed to miss what was to be his last season with Canterbury before heading to Ireland to play for Munster.

“I would obviously love to be playing this final season out with my teammates, but I hope to be able to continue to contribute to this team in other ways off the field. I am working with Munster to plan the rehab process and I’m looking forward to contributing to their campaign once I have fully recovered,” Bleyendaal said.

Canterbury Head Coach Scott Robertson said Bleyendaal’s presence on the field would be sorely missed.

“Tyler is such a talented and smart player so losing him for the rest of the season is a big blow. But even though he’s unable to contribute on the field, he’ll still be taking part in our other team preparations and will continue to play a significant role in other areas such as strategy, where his skills are second to none.”

“Everyone in the team is gutted for Tyler but we are just wishing him the best possible recovery so he can get out on the footy field again soon,” Robertson said.