Lomu comeback hopes hampered by ankle injury

New Zealand winger Jonah Lomu suffered another setback to his hopes of representing the All Blacks again when he damaged ankle ligaments playing for the Cardiff Blues on Saturday.

The 31-year-old Lomu, who is seeking to resume his international career in time to play in the 2007 World Cup, joined the Welsh club on a short-term contract in December after two years out of action following a kidney transplant.

Lomu became the youngest player to represent the All Blacks in 1994 and rose to prominence at the 1995 World Cup in S. Africa when he almost single-handedly destroyed England in the semi-finals.

His career has stalled since 1996, however, when he was diagnosed with the debilitating nephrotic syndrome.

¤ The Australian Rugby Union (ARU) named Pat Wilson as its general manager of high performance yesterday. Wilson, a former New South Wales rugby union commercial manager, stepped down as chief executive officer of Australian rugby league club Manly Sea Eagles to take up his new position. "I am looking forward to taking on such a key role, especially one that involves such an iconic national team as the Wallabies," Wilson said in a statement. Wilson is due to meet with new Wallabies coach John Connolly to ensure the necessary specialist support is in place for the 2006 international season and next year's World Cup.