(Reuters) - Waikato Chiefs centre Anton Lienert-Brown has been ruled out of the rest of the Super Rugby Pacific season with a collarbone injury while flyhalf Damian McKenzie is also expected to miss Saturday's crunch match against the Wellington Hurricanes.
All Blacks midfielder Lienert-Brown had only just returned from a month out with a leg injury when he suffered the break early in the Chiefs' commanding 56-22 win over Western Force on Friday.
"Footy doesn’t always love you back, such is life," the 30-year-old posted on social media.
"Surgery & then a speedy recovery on way."
McKenzie missed the Force match with a hand injury and the All Blacks playmaker is unlikely to return until next week's away game against the Canterbury Crusaders.
"He can catch a ball and he could probably go out there (against the Hurricanes), but this close to the finals we’re probably better off to take the precautionary route," coach Clayton McMillan told the Waikato Times.
The Chiefs are top of the table, level on 37 points with the second-placed Crusaders, ahead of the match against the resurgent Hurricanes, who jumped to fifth with an impressive away win over the ACT Brumbies.
With five rounds left in the regular season, the Auckland Blues saw their hopes of reaching the playoffs dealt another blow with a three-match ban for winger Mark Telea.
The All Blacks dynamo was cited for a dangerous tackle on Queensland Reds' outside back Tim Ryan during the defending champions' 35-21 loss in Brisbane at the weekend.
The Blues are ninth ahead of Friday's home match against the Force.
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
