All Blacks captain and veteran Crusader Scott Barrett requires back surgery which will rule him out of the game for up to five months.
In what is a huge setback for the national side, Barrett will go under the knife at the end of the week after picking up a back problem when he was on the brink of returning from his non-playing sabbatical.
It means Barrett, 32, will miss the three National Championship Tests in July and the four Tests against the Springboks in August and September.
Barrett has not played a match this year due to a sabbatical arranged to get his body right ahead of next year's World Cup in Australia.
After making excellent progress from lower limb injuries, including an ankle issue, Barrett appeared in excellent shape and poised to return for the Crusaders' play-offs push until his latest setback.
"He's tried every non-invasive trick you can do to get right and it just hasn't come off so he'll be in the operating theatre by the end of the week," Crusaders coach Rob Penney said this afternoon.
"He was in great shape and had had a great break and he'd come back very excited. He's still contributing, as he does really meaningfully behind the scenes but he's as frustrated as all of us are for him.
"He's got his head around it now. I guess a pretty special trip to South Africa that he's going to miss... but ultimately he's just got to get himself right."
Barrett will be at long odds to retain the captaincy of the All Blacks under new head coach Dave Rennie – Ardie Savea will be favourite to take over starting in July – but Barrett remains the best and most experienced lock in the country.
His absence will be felt especially keenly during the All Blacks' tough tour of South Africa.
Rennie will name his first All Blacks squad of the year on June 22. He is due to name 34 players.
The Crusaders have been reluctant to divulge the true extent of Barrett's back issue – Penney recently described it only as a "squeaky moment" – but it is now clear the problem was worse than first thought.
In a recent Instagram message, Barrett posted a picture of Christchurch's new indoor stadium and suggested he would be spending more time in the stands.
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