Blues captain Patrick Tuipulotu has fractured his jaw and is out of rugby for eight to 10 weeks.
Tupulotu suffered the injury late in the first half of the Blues' opening pre-season match against Tokyo Sungoliath at the Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium. The visitors won 43-7.
The Blues said in a statement that the former All Black will return to New Zealand for surgery.
“This is a tough blow for Patrick, especially early on in the season,” said Blues head coach Vern Cotter.
“We accept injuries are part of our game and we’re wishing Paddy a speedy recovery knowing he’ll still offer plenty to the group from a leadership perspective over the next few weeks.
“This is a resilient group and we’ve got a strong stock of locks to call on while he recovers.”
Cotter said a decision on who will take over the Blues captaincy will be made in the coming days. An obvious candidate is Dalton Papali'i, a former captain who relinquished the role this season.
The Blues take on the Yokohama Canon Eagles at Nippatsu Mitsuzawa Stadium in their second pre-season match on Saturday as part of the Cross-Border Rugby competition.
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