Crusaders captain Scott Barrett has been ruled out of the entire Super Rugby Aotearoa season by a toe injury.
Versatile All Blacks forward Barrett will undergo foot surgery and won’t be back on the field before the end of the New Zealand-only competition in mid-August.
It is unclear if the injury will impact on his involvement in the possible Tests against Australia later this year if such matches can go ahead.
Barrett, the brother of star backs Beauden and Jordie, suffered the injury during an internal warmup match on June 13.
All Blacks hooker Codie Taylor led the Crusaders to a 39-25 win over the Hurricanes in their first match last weekend and has been named skipper for the remainder of the competition.
Veteran lock Alex Ainley has joined the 10-time champions as injury cover.
Injury has ended the Super Rugby season for three notable forwards this week, with flankers Luke Jacobson (Chiefs) and Tom Robinson (Blues) succumbing to hand and knee issues respectively.