Dan Carter's stint with Blues may end without an appearance

Former All Black first five Dan Carter has conceded that he might not make a single appearance for the Blues in Super Rugby Aotearoa with just one game remaining for the Auckland-based the side.

Carter, 38, signed for the Blues as injury cover and was pencilled in on the bench for the clash against the Hurricanes, however, a calf strain forced him to withdraw from the matchday squad.

Answering questions on social media, Carter said his expectations of getting game time had been low in any case before the injury.

“I wasn’t really expecting to [play] to be honest, unless there was an injury to Beauden [Barrett] or Otere [Black],” Carter said.

“Both of those boys have been on fire over the past couple of months, so I’m happy to just contribute and helping out the team whatever way I can.“

The 38-year-old added that his “old-man calves” were feeling good and he had done a bit of recent running, but he recognised that his injuries now take longer to heal than previously.

Welcome back to club rugby! Dan Carter gets reacquainted to the game pic.twitter.com/vpRMx0lrmp

— Ultimate Rugby (@ultimaterugby) July 4, 2020

Blues' assistant coach Tana Umaga said that there were no plans to give Carter a fairytale return against his former team if he was not fit.

“We’re not going to put him out there and he’s not going to put himself out there if he’s not 100%,” Umaga said in comments published by the New Zealand Herald.

“I don’t think that’s fair to him, fair to the team, or fair to the people. He knows his body better than anyone.”