This article originally appeared on Stuff and is reproduced with permission
New Zealand sevens captain Sarah Hirini was in tears in a wheelchair with her injured right knee and faces a nervous wait to determine if she could miss next year's Paris Olympics.
The 30-year-old was in a large knee brace after suffering the injury on the opening day of last weekend's Dubai Sevens, the first leg of the new World Series.
She has been ruled out of this weekend's tournament in Cape Town and was given an emotional farewell from her team-mates at the airport, who performed a haka for their skipper on Sunday.
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Hirini was returning home for further medical assessments.
It's not yet clear what the severity of her injury could be, but her tearful reaction suggested she feared the worst with the Olympics only seven months away.
"I have had scans and am heading to back to Aotearoa to talk through my options with our medical team," Hirini said in an Instagram post, with a picture of her with a knee brace and crutches.
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"I'm devastated to have not finished the tournament off with the team but am so proud to be a part of this group.
"This roller coaster journey has just added a few more twists and turns."
A New Zealand Rugby spokesperson said Hirini was having further medicals later this week.
She is a talismanic figure for the Black Ferns sevens and would be a major loss if her knee injury did rule her out of the Olympics.
The Black Ferns sevens will defend their Olympic gold at the Paris Games next July.
Hirini is one of women's rugby's most decorated players, winning every major honour, including World Cup wins in sevens and 15s and Commonwealth Games and Olympic titles.
She was one of the flagbearers for the New Zealand team at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and led her side to gold.
Returning from sevens to 15s, she played as a loose forward last year when the Black Ferns won their sixth Rugby World Cup title in New Zealand.
Tysha Ikenasio has replaced her in the travelling squad for this weekend's Cape Town Sevens.
In Dubai, Hirini had kept New Zealand's remarkable unbeaten record alive with a late try to give them victory over South Africa.
She was later injured and New Zealand's 41 match winning run came to an end in the women's final on Monday (AEDT), losing 26-19 to Australia.
The New Zealand men's sevens side have also had to make an injury replacement for the South African leg of the series.
Regan Ware was concussed during the pool stage in Dubai and has been replaced by Xavier Tito-Harris after New Zealand claimed bronze in Dubai with a 12-7 victory over Fiji.
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