Injured Hurricanes star Ardie Savea warned away from Tik Tok videos

Hurricanes loose forward Ardie Savea has been warned to steer clear from Tik Tok videos while recovering from a serious knee injury.

That’s the verdict from the 26-year-old’s doctor after he underwent surgery late last year to fix a knee injury sustained during the All Blacks’ World Cup semi-final defeat to England in Japan.

Savea has since been rehabilitating as he aims for a Super Rugby return with the Hurricanes, but has been told to stay away from producing dance videos on Tik Tok, the short-form mobile video platform, by his doctor.

“I’ve been doing Tik Toks lately and they require dance moves. I went in to work the other day and the doc told me off,” the 44-test international said at the Super Rugby launch on Tuesday.

“Just doing stuff like that and walking down the stairs, sometimes you feel really confident, but then it catches a little bit, so I just need to be careful.”

While it may have deterred his recovery process, Tik Toks and social media have helped Savea work through a mentally challenging time, which he opened up about to reporters at the launch.

“Before I got the injury, I thought I would be OK if I got a major injury because I’ve got a lot going on off the field, but I actually really struggled,” he said.

“Something I learned during that journey is I like to be active, I like to go out for walks, and not being able to do that for four or five weeks was quite tough mentally.

“Once I started to be able to walk, I started to find I was feeling better and the right mental space.

“It’s been like a learning for me and a reset too, to be able to chill out and be with my family more. My daughter is growing up too fast.”

Savea is scheduled for a visit with his surgeon on Wednesday before he heads away for a holiday as he recuperates before getting back into action with the Hurricanes.

The franchise’s head coach Jason Holland said prior to his side’s pre-season clash with the Crusaders on Saturday that Savea could make an earlier than expected return from injury after initial fears that he would miss most of the Super Rugby season.

“He’s doing everything right at the moment and he’s coming along nicely,” Holland said.