Wellington (AFP)
All Blacks star Ardie Savea will undergo a knee surgery and miss at least "five to six months" of the Super Rugby season in which his Wellington Hurricanes club participate, he announced Sunday.
"Unfortunately I will be out of action for five or six months, so I will miss most of the Super Rugby season with my Canes brothers (nickname Hurricanes)," he wrote on Instagram.
The 26-year-old is going to be operated because of a knee injury in the 19-7 Lost World Cup semi-final against England on Oct. 26.
With the regular Super Rugby season ending at the end of May, Ardie Savea may miss the full season and only be available for the playoffs if Wellington qualifies.
This is a blow for the Hurricanes, semi-finalists of the 2019 season, who have already lost their opening half Beauden Barrett, twice voted best player in the world and gone to the Auckland Blues.
Ardie Savea, who said he was "gutted" in the run-up to his operation, was one of six finalists for the title of best player in the world 2019, finally returned to the world champion South African Pieter-Steph Du Toit .
© 2019 AFP