Blockbusting All Blacks winger Jonah Lomu started dialysis treatment Saturday for his chronic kidney condition but, despite facing the prospect of a transplant, he hasn't given up hope of contesting a third rugby union World Cup.
"My dream has always been to wear the All Blacks shirt -- and my dream hasn't changed. I am doing everything I can to get back into top form," said Lomu, who hasn't played since April and will be sidelined for several months at least.
But New Zealand Rugby Union doctor John Mayhew isn't as confident, saying planning is already underway for Lomu -- the highest profile player in world rugby -- to have a kidney transplant "in the foreseeable future."
"We have had to move to dialysis as a result of a recent deterioration in Jonah's kidney function," said Mayhew. "Most probably it'll take two or three months to sort out the transplant process, to get a compatible donor and things like that. But that process has started.
"Realistically as a doctor, I feel it would be inconceivable that he could get back for the World Cup."
Lomu, 28, withdrew from the Super 12 competition in April due to a flareup of the kidney problem and his fitness and condition worsened since. He needs treatment three times a week for at least a month at the Auckland hospital before he can consider his playing future.
hard to accept
In a statement on his Web site, www.jonahlomu.com, Lomu said: "I knew the day had to eventually arrive when I had to go on the dialysis machine but, still, it doesn't make it easier to accept.
"Today was my first day and it went really well. I feel good and strong and look forward to feeling even better before too long."
Despite medical advice and being sidelined for important upcoming tests against England, Australia and South Africa, Lomu said he was confident he could be fit in time to represent New Zealand in the World Cup starting in Australia on Oct. 10.
"He is very determined to get back to where he was," said Lomu's manager Phil Kingsley-Jones.
"Nobody has played international sport with dialysis -- it would be the first -- but Jonah was the first to do many things."
Lomu is the leading tryscorer in rugby World Cups with 15. He was voted player of the tournament at the 1995 World Cup in South Africa, scoring four tries in a semifinal demolition of England before New Zealand lost a thrilling final to the hosts.
In 63 tests for New Zealand, he has scored 37 tries. He was the youngest ever All Black when he debuted at age 19 years and 45 days against France in 1994. His first 10 test tries came in record time and he was the first player to score 12 test match tries in a calendar year.
He has undergone regular treatment since being diagnosed with a rare kidney condition, nephrotic syndrome, which sidelined him for months in 1996.
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