The Chiefs centre Robbie Fruean will miss the next two months of the Super rugby competition needing further heart surgery.
Fruean, who's 25, has twice had surgery to replace a heart valve, after his heart was damaged having suffered from rhumatic fever when he was a teenager.
The latest surgery is to correct an irregular heartbeat and involves small electrodes being used to destroy small areas of the heart to correct the problem.
It's the same procedure that former Blues player Gus Collins and former rower Rob Waddell have had.
Fruean, along with Charlie Ngatai and James Lowe, who were injured playing against the Stormers on Friday night, have been left out of the Chiefs squad named to travel to Perth and South Africa for their next three matches.
Meanwhile All Blacks Ma'a Nonu and Jerome Kaino have been cleared for selection for the struggling Blues match against the South Africa side the Cheetahs at Eden Park on Saturday.
The pair have missed the side's first four games with Nonu recovering from recovering from ankle surgery during the off season while Kaino has has returned home from a two-season stint in Japan.
