Bristol Bears have been hit with a hammer blow of an injury to their biggest star, Semi Radradra, ahead of their European Heineken Champions Cup campaign which kicks off this weekend.
Outside centre Radradra is set to miss both of Bristol’s opening two games of the group stages of the European competition after picking up a dead leg while captaining Fiji to a 45-10 victory over Georgia in the the Autumn Nations Cup on Saturday.
Bristol director of rugby Pat Lam said he is going to lodge an official complaint with World Rugby as he believes Fiji have mishandled the injury which has exasperated the situation and increased his time on the sidelines.
The Bears’ marquee signing, who is widely regarded as one of the best players in the world, will miss Saturday’s game against ASM Clermont Auvergne and the trip away to Lam’s former employers Connacht next week having joined the club from Bordeaux-Begles in June.
He could even be sidelined for Bristol's Boxing Day clash at Harlequins in the Gallagher Premiership having not played for the club yet this season due to his international commitments.
Speaking earlier today, Lam said: “Unfortunately we are disappointed with what has happened with Semi Radradra, he is coming back from Fiji.
“I watched their game at the weekend and from the first scrum in the game in the first minute he carried the ball and there was a big collision and I knew something was wrong because he was limping after it.
“I watched the game and he limped through the first half and then they heavily strapped his leg at half time.
“Fiji had control of that game and I was watching and he couldn’t chase, he wasn’t going at 100 percent but they kept him out there for 80 minutes.
“So what turned out to be a dead leg which should have been iced [straight away] and he would have been good to go this week; that 80 minutes of running around turned it into a serious bleed and the leg blew up [swelled] so our medical staff have had to get on top of it.
“We have scanned it and unfortunately he could be out for two, maybe three weeks now.”
A frustrated Lam, who is also missing former All Black Charles Piutua and Wallabies international Luke Morahan to Achilles injuries to leave his backline without some of its most dangerous weapons, continued: “What is disappointing about it is Fiji had that game won early, also I have no doubt in my mind, because Semi told the medical team at half time he was struggling, that if Fiji had been playing another game this week he would have been taken off to be able to play in that game.
“He is a big player for us, a lot of time and resources goes into him and other players here, we will put a formal complaint to World Rugby.
“We are about to go into the Heineken Champion Cup, the reason we have people like Semi is for big games like this, for him not to be there for these games is not ideal.”
