Wallabies legend George Smith’s playing future has been cast into serious doubt after suffering a potentially career-threatening back injury.
New Queensland Reds coach and All Blacks legend Brad Thorn has revealed Smith has returned to Australia to source different medical opinions after hurting himself while playing in Japan.
“He’s just getting it checked out at the moment. I guess he’s just getting a few opinions, which is a smart thing to do,” Thorn said on Wednesday.
“We’ll soon find out more about that and he’s a real valued guy and hopefully there’s a good result there.”
Thorn remains hopeful the 111-Test flanker won’t have to hang up his boots but, turning 38 next July, Smith can’t be far from drawing the curtain on his grand career.
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“Who knows? He might want to play a bit more. He’s just trying to look at those opinions and he’s keen to play footy,” added Thorn.
“I don’t think he’s thinking about that sort of thing (retirement) at the moment so I feel hopeful that he’ll be OK.”