A shoulder injury still adds to the pain of a terrible year for Williams

LONDON: Sonny Bill Williams' bad year has worsened on Saturday as the two-time Rugby World Cup winner for New Zealand seems to have completed his campaign with a shoulder injury.

The 33-year-old only lasted 30 minutes after the Allies' 16-15 win over England at Twickenham before leaving the field. His coach Steve Hansen said the Auckland Blues center would not be back for next week's match against Ireland in Dublin.

"He has a clbad 1 (separate) shoulder," Hansen told reporters. "He may be away for a week, maybe two."

The All Blacks will face Ireland, world number two, next week, with their best possible team, before finishing their November test program against Italy in Rome on November 24th.

In any case, the imposing inner center would probably not have played against the Azzurri, as Hansen was planning to give his marginal players time to play during their end-of-season tour by tweaking his plans for the Rugby World Cup.

Hansen said it was too early to determine if they would send a replacement player, although Ngani Laumape would become a potential player, if necessary, after impressing with a tripling of tries against Japan in Tokyo the last week.

"We have not had time to discuss this," Hansen said of the possible need to strengthen his team. "We'll see how he gets up in the morning and discuss it a little later."

Even if Williams is fit to face Italy, Hansen could still choose to end his tough year and give him a long off season to prepare for the 2019 Super Rugby campaign.

Williams had wrist, knee and shoulder problems and only participated in five tests this year, with a total duration of 80 minutes in a single d & # 39; ;between them.

He also played only six games with the Blues and was closely watched by a poor performance in New Zealand, while he was on the pitch, although Hansen added that he was the type of player whose form improved with the matches.

Hansen's midfield selections should however be a formality next week, with Ryan Crotty playing well against England when he replaced Williams and will likely be his partner, the team-mate of the Canterbury Crusaders, Jack Goodhue, facing the Six Nations champions.

(Report by Greg Stutchbury, edited by John O & # 39; Brien)