All Blacks captain Richie McCaw will miss the opening rounds of the Super Rugby competition after suffering a stress fracture in his right foot.
The Crusaders captain experienced pain in the foot during a fitness test last week and a scan confirmed the fracture.
The openside flanker will have surgery in the next few days to insert a small screw in the bone running down the outside of the foot to the little toe.
McCaw is likely to miss the first six weeks of the tri-nations competition between teams from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.
The Crusaders had already planned for him to sit out the first two rounds against the Blues and the Hurricanes after a busy season last year.
McCaw told Morning Report the injury is frustrating but is just one of those things.
He says the situation could be worse and he will be eager to get stuck in when he returns to the field in six weeks time.
Kieran Read will captain the Crusaders.
The tournament begins on 18 February when the Hurricanes take on the Highlanders at Wellington's Westpac Stadium.
