Rugby-All Blacks winger Naholo out for two months with broken leg

WELLINGTON, March 1 (Reuters) - All Blacks winger Waisake Naholo has re-broken the same leg that almost derailed his trip to the World Cup last year and will be out of action for up to eight weeks, the Super Rugby champion Otago Highlanders said on Tuesday. The 24-year-old Naholo broke his leg during his All Blacks test debut against Argentina last year. It was originally thought the injury would end his hopes of playing at the World Cup in England. Naholo sought alternative treatment in his native Fiji and was named in the All Blacks squad, but only made two appearances in pool play. "The positive news is that this injury is not as bad as his last fracture," Highlanders doctor Greg Macleod said in a statement on Tuesday. "He is already managing well and it's expected his rehab will take six to eight weeks." Naholo would not return to Fiji for treatment this year, the Highlanders said. Japan scrumhalf Fumiaki Tanaka has also been ruled out for the next month after suffering a torn calf muscle shortly before their opening match at the Auckland Blues on Saturday, Macleod added. "To lose players for an extended period is always disappointing but you have to expect injuries to occur at some point," Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph said. "As a group we simply deal with it and move on, the focus for the players now will be to rehab well and work to make themselves available again." The Highlanders, who lost 33-31 to the Blues at Eden Park, host the Wellington Hurricanes in Dunedin on Saturday in a re-match of last year's final. (Reporting by Greg Stutchbury; Editing by Nick Mulvenney)