28 Apr 2011

Blues lock Kurtis Haiu has bone tumour

7:39 am on 28 April 2011

The Blues lock Kurtis Haiu has been diagnosed with a bone tumour in his ribs and is taking an indefinite break from rugby to have it treated.

The team doctor Stephen Kara says what appears to be a primary tumour was found during a CT scan.

Kara says Haiu wanted his diagnosis made public.

He'll have to undergo further tests, including surgery, to definitively confirm the type of tumour and until then the prognosis is uncertain although Kara says the tumour is treatable..

The 26-year-old had been experiencing pain for several months, but put it down to the contact associated with rugby until the pain increased and tests and scans revealed a lesion.

Haiu will see a bone tumour specialist early next week.