Any hope stand-in All Blacks flanker Matt Todd had of making the side's end of year Northern Hemisphere tour has been quashed, with the Canterbury player likely to be out for six months after suffering a serious chest injury.
Todd suffered a torn pectoral muscle in Canterbury's recent loss to Wellington and underwent surgery with his recovery expected to take six months.
Todd was twice used as a substitute against France and South Africa this season and was on standby in case All Blacks captain Richie McCaw failed to recover from his knee injury ahead of next weekend's test against the Springboks in Johannesburg.
