Crusaders and All Blacks outside back Will Jordan is unavailable for selection during the Super Rugby Pacific season due to surgery on a shoulder injury.
1News reported yesterday that Jordan likely required surgery and faced a long spell on the sidelines due to the injury and the Crusaders confirmed this morning he's been ruled out for the season.
Jordan had been under "conservative management" due to the pre-existing shoulder injury from last year's season.
"After assessment from the Crusaders medical team he will undergo surgery and as a result be unavailable for selection during the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific season," the Crusaders said today.
"He is expected to be fit to return to play in approximately six months."
Jordan will miss the entire season with a shoulder issue that has been bothering him since last year. (Source: 1News)
It comes with the Super Rugby season just one week away and with a number of other Crusader players facing an uncertain short-term future due to injury.
Loose forward Ethan Blackadder's bad luck has also continued, a calf injury likely to keep him out of his team's first game of the season against the Chiefs in Hamilton on Friday night at least.
Blackadder, called into the World Cup squad but given few opportunities in France, has had a horrendous run with leg and shoulder injuries over the last couple of years.
Fullback Leigh Halfpenny, the former Wales international, suffered a serious chest injury early in the Crusaders' pre-season defeat to Munster, with new coach Rob Penney having to go deep into his squad even before the season has started.
They will take the field at Waikato Stadium with a new-look backline following first-five Richie Mo'unga's move to Japan, with Taha Kemara, 20, and Rivez Reihana, 23, in line to wear the No.10 jersey. Canterbury first-five Fergus Burke has an Achilles injury and is out until April.
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