The Canterbury loosehead prop Joe Moody has been ruled out of the All Blacks tour of Japan and Europe, with a broken leg suffered in Saturday night's provincial Premiership final win over Wellington.
Moody's fractured fibula opens a place for young Wellington tighthead prop Jeff Toomaga-Allen.
Toomaga-Allen is being viewed as a loosehead prop by the All Blacks selectors, with the 22-year-old seen as a long-term replacement option for Tony Woodcock and Wyatt Crockett.
The All Blacks coach Steve Hansen says Woodcock and Crockett, who are 32 and 30 respectively, are a little older so there's a need to develop depth in the position.
The team for the Japan game will be named on Thursday and won't include 10 players who are heading directly to Paris to prepare for the France game instead.
Woodcock, Sam Whitelock, Kieran Read, Liam Messam, Israel Dagg, Aaron Cruden, Cory Jane, Julian Savea and his brother Ardie Savea fly to the French capital on Friday - so Toomaga-Allen could well debut in Tokyo, while the likes of captain Richie McCaw and Daniel Carter will play against the Japanese.
