Tuipulotu and Lienert-Brown to return to New Zealand

Patrick Tuipulotu and Anton Lienert-Brown will return home to New Zealand after suffering injuries during the opening Test of the Lipovitan D Rugby Championship in Cordoba.

Tuipulotu went to hospital for checks after the match due to a suspected facial fracture and had follow up scans and a specialist review in Buenos Aries on Monday (ART). Those scans revealed a minor facial fracture, which will require surgery on his return to New Zealand. Tuipulotu did not experience a concussion and his expected return to play has been placed at approximately 6 weeks post-surgery.

Lienert-Brown left the field in Cordoba after failing his HIA Test on the night and is going through concussion protocols to determine his return to play date, but is unavailable for the second Test.

Both players will depart for New Zealand on Tuesday morning (ART).