Otago loose forward Adam Thomson's playing future - including a trip to the Commonwealth Games - is in doubt after he suffered a knee injury yesterday.
Thomson, who played well in his 50th match for Otago in the narrow loss to Northland, has injured the medial ligament in his right knee.
He came off with about five minutes to play when he was trying to defend the Otago line.
Otago coach Phil Mooney said it did not look good for Thomson (28), but he would be checked today to ascertain the damage, once the swelling went down.
The All Black loose forward was walking gingerly after the game.
It was a tough way for Thompson to end the match, as he was in the thick of action throughout the match, and won special praise from Mooney.
"He was excellent and just showed he was an All Black playing his 50th game for his province. He was head and shoulders the best forward out," Mooney said.
But Thomson was one of the few leading lights in an Otago performance which spluttered around the field.
Mooney, who has just two wins from eight games in his first season as coach, felt the side let itself down.
"We were the architects of our own demise. We gave away a lot of penalties at the breakdown and that relieves pressure on them.
"Our defensive lineout wasn't very good and I think credit to them. They won all their lineouts and that makes a big difference."
Mooney said it was a combination of things which led to the lineout struggles, including not getting players into the air.
He felt there were some poor options at times in attack, and players needed to hang on to the ball rather than kick it away.
"We are capable of doing good things but we do it too infrequently.
Certainly, the only thing you can think is the boys don't back themselves to play like that. It's not from [a lack of] experience."
Otago does not have a lot of time to reflect.
It travels to Rotorua to play Bay of Plenty on Friday night.
