Chiefs captain Sam Cane will sit out the Super Rugby Aotearoa opener against the Highlanders on Saturday with a stiff back.
The exclusion of the newly crowned All Blacks skipper will be a blow to the Chiefs as they will now have to play their first game in months without the star loose-forward.
"I've got a bit of a stuff back," Cane told 1 NEWS.
"I didn't train last week to get it right. I could play this week but they've made the decision I won't be playing this week so I've just got to get a bit of fitness in and contact under the belt and I'll be good to go next week."
Cane said the injury has nothing to do with the neck injury he sustained in 2018 which required surgery and had him sidelined last year.
"It was more just general soreness in my back, it tightened up a wee bit and took a couple of days to settle down.
"Gats [coach Warren Gatland] took the decision out of my hands."
Saturday's match will take place at Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium and will be the first event in the country to host a crowd of fans since Covid-19 lockdown restrictions banning large crowds we put in place.
Those restrictions have now lifted after New Zealand entered Alert Level 1 today.
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