All Blacks captain Ardie Savea has undergone shoulder surgery after dislocating it during the side's 29-24 loss to the Springboks earlier this month, with the star loose forward now facing months on the sideline.
Savea picked up the injury during the third Test of the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry tour in South Africa, one of several casualties from a bruising campaign.
He'll now miss the two-Test Bledisloe Cup series against Australia next month, with the opener against the Wallabies set for Auckland's Eden Park on October 10.
A post made to Instagram last night, a photo of Savea in his hospital bed flanked by his wife Saskia, brother Julian and sister-in-law Fatima, was simply captioned "Surgery done. Back soon 💙".
Well-wishes flooded in from teammates and rivals alike. All Blacks Rieko Ioane, Tupou Vaa'i, Fletcher Newell, Peter Lakai and Noah Hotham all sent messages of support, while Springboks winger Cheslin Kolbe wished his opponent a "speedy recovery brother".
Savea's injury adds to the All Blacks' casualty list, with Luke Jacobson and Caleb Clarke sidelined for the rest of the year.
Jacobson was recovering from an elbow tendon injury — picked up in the same match as Savea — while Clarke was recovering from a ruptured shoulder tendon.
Both were expected to be out for around five months and would also miss the Bledisloe Cup series.
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