All Blacks wing Nehe Milner-Skudder will miss the Super Rugby season with a shoulder injury, the Wellington Hurricanes said Wednesday, in a setback which also rules him out of New Zealand's Test series against Wales.
Milner-Skudder, who enjoyed a breakthrough season last year, dislocated his shoulder in the Hurricanes’ hard-fought victory over the Auckland Blues last Friday.
Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd said scans had confirmed the 25-year-old needed surgery, ending his Super Rugby campaign just three rounds into the competition.
Boyd described Milner-Skudder’s injury as “unfortunate” but said the Hurricanes had an able back-up in former Test winger Cory Jane.
“Losing Nehe is a blow and obviously disappointing for him,” he said.
“But we’re really lucky in that we have a lot of depth in the outside backs and when you can bring a 53-Test All Black like Cory Jane into the team you aren’t going too bad.”
If Boyd’s assessment is correct, Milner-Skudder will be sidelined until August, ruling him out of New Zealand’s three-Test home series against Wales in June.
The diminutive flyer displaced Jane in last year’s World Cup squad and his injury means the veteran 33-year-old may figure in All Blacks coach Steve Hansen’s calculations for the Wales series.
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