The Crusaders are once again without the services of All Blacks duo Sam Whitelock and Ryan Crotty for this week's Super Rugby derby against the Chiefs with the pair still sidelined with concussion issues.
Coach Scott Robertson told media today Crotty and Whitelock, who missed last week's 24-13 win over the Hurricanes as well, still weren't ticking all the required boxes.
"We're just making sure we're doing the right thing by them," he said.
With the protocols of the Head Injury Assessments, they weren't quite ready so we've given them another week to get right."
The ongoing issue could have bigger ramifications for the pair who could miss the first All Blacks Test against France next weekend in Auckland if they are unable to recover in time.
But Robertson isn't worried.
"It's a week-by-week thing so we'll see what happens next week.
"When you go through these processes, it's a day-to-day thing and today they're great - maybe if we played Sunday they could have played, it's that close."
Instead, the Crusaders play the Chiefs this Saturday at 7:30pm in Hamilton ahead of the All Blacks' first clash with France next Saturday with the same kick-off time at Eden Park.
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