WELLINGTON (Reuters) – Injured All Blacks loose forward Ardie Savea has been ordered to curb his use of the social media platform TikTok as he recovers from knee surgery.
Savea, who injured his knee in the Rugby World Cup semi-final against England, had surgery in December and was not expected back until the end of the Super Rugby season at the earliest.
The 26-year-old, however, told reporters on Tuesday there was still no timeline for his return but he had been told by the Wellington Hurricanes doctor to stop posting short dance videos on TikTok as it could jeopardize his recovery.
“I’ve been doing TikToks lately and they require dance moves. I went in to work the other day and the doc told me off,” he said at Super Rugby event in Auckland.
“Just doing stuff like that and walking down the stairs, sometimes you feel really confident, but then it catches a little bit, so I just need to be careful.”
Savea, who was named as New Zealand Rugby’s Player of the Year on the same day as his surgery, admitted that he had battled with boredom during his recovery and that he found it difficult to sit still for prolonged periods.
“Before I got the injury, I thought I would be okay if I got a major injury because I’ve got a lot going on off the field, but I actually really struggled,” he said.
“Something I learned … is I like to be active, I like to go out for walks, and not being able to do that for four or five weeks was quite tough mentally.
“Once I started to be able to walk, I started to find I was feeling better and the right mental space.”
Savea was scheduled to see the surgeon again later this week and would have a better idea on a possible date for his return to the field. He had initially said he did not expect to be back until late May or June.
“I’m just taking my time. Medical advice is that you’ve got to look after the knee,” he said.
“So I am just going to do everything to make sure that it’s fully right and whenever that is I will come back.”
The Hurricanes open their Super Rugby campaign on Feb. 1 in South Africa against the Stormers.
(Reporting by Greg Stutchbury; Editing by Michael Perry)
