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All Black midfielder Jack Goodhue is set to undergo knee surgery which will rule him out from international duty for awhile.
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The centre has not been seen in the black jersey yet this season after playing for the Crusaders in the Super Rugby Pacific final.
He was named in the initial squad but didn’t see the field as Rieko Ioane formed a midfield with Quinn Tupaea at first followed by David Havili.
He returned to action for Northland against Wellington in the NPC over the weekend which confirmed the need to go under the knife for a previous injury that hasn’t healed right.
The loss of Goodhue, who has 18 test caps, sidelines the two most experienced midfielders available to Ian Foster.
Anton Lienert-Brown also remains unavailable after suffering a serious shoulder injury earlier in Super Rugby season.
The pair were the preferred selections under Foster in 2020 in his first year in charge of the side and started the 2019 semi-final against England.
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The blow is another setback for the Crusader midfielder who missed the entire 2021 international season through injury.
The All Blacks will continue their Rugby Championship campaign with Ioane, Tupaea, Havili and Blues recruit Roger Tuivasa-Sheck who has appeared just once so far.
