Perry Baker says he'll be back in a few weeks - that might be optimistic, but his injury has elicited some reactions and ramifications already.

No Punishment

Tana Fotofili captained Tonga and was the player who tackled Baker, resulting in Baker's broken jaw. He was penalized and yellow-carded for the tackle, but was not cited after the game. Fotofili did not finish the tournament, though, as he was reportedly cited for another tackle later on.

Friday Weights In

USA head coach Mike Friday called the tackle "reckless" but said it was also legal. Fotofili was standing upright when he made the tackle. He wrapped, and he did not tackle high. The problem was that Fotofili's head slammed into Baker's jaw before any other contact was made.

But, added Friday, this might turn more attention to what is and isn't a safe tackle.

"I am very frustrated about the tackle, as from a point of law it is legal, but at a time where we are trying to reduce head collisions and high tackles, the tackle attempt was clearly reckless," Friday told FloRugby. "I acknowledge there was no intent to injure by the Tongan player, but the chances of a bad outcome greatly increase when tackling with the head placement as it was."

When you go high, injury risk increases.

How This Affects ... Canada

Perhaps the rugby nation most angry at the incident was Canada. Why? Without Baker, the USA is certainly not as strong, and if Baker is out for a while, his absence could result in the Eagles dropping out of the top four in the HSBC Sevens World Series.

Why would Canada case? The Olympics. If the USA finishes in the top four, the Eagles get an automatic spot in Tokyo 2020. And that also means the USA doesn't compete in the North American qualifier tournament, leaving Canada in a much stronger position to qualify.

Canada certainly has to be hoping the USA stays in the top four.

Down But Not Out

Baker tweeted "see ya in a few weeks." That could be a bit optimistic. Friday said it will be at least several weeks.

Thank you all for the wishes and blessings sent my way. See ya in a few weeks #dawgslyfe

— Perry Baker (@SpeedSt11ck) January 27, 2019

He is slated to undergo surgery in the USA early this week, and Friday said: "we will have to wait on the recovery period, but we don’t expect Perry to be fit until, at the earliest, Hong Kong, and that will be ambitious."

Hone Kong will be April 5-7. He will certainly miss Sydney this coming week and Las Vegas and Vancouver in March. And fans should be prepared for him to miss Hong Kong and Singapore in April, making May 25-26 in London a likely return.

Meanwhile, another player will be flown out to Australia to bolster the travel squad to 13, and the Eagles will look ahead to staying at the top of the World Series standings without the two-time World Rugby 7s Player Of The Year.