New Zealand have confirmed that both Brodie Retallick and Ngani Laumape have been ruled out of next week’s fixture against South Africa.
The duo came off injured in the 10th minute of the 46-24 win over Argentina, with Retallick having a shoulder issue and Laumape a knee complaint.
Lock Retallick is set to have a scan this week to determine the extent of his injury while centre Laumape is ruled out for “at least a couple of weeks”.
All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen confirmed that Auckland second-row Patrick Tuipulotu has been called into the squad as cover for Retallick.
“Patrick will come in and Brodie will get scanned on Monday and then we’ll have a better idea how long he’ll be, but it could be a maximum six weeks,” he said.
“Hopefully that will be all. Minimum maybe three, so he’ll be out for a wee while. Ngani’s got grade-one ligament damage so he’ll be two to three weeks.”
It is likely that the All Blacks will bring Sam Whitelock back into their starting team alongside Scott Barrett in the second-row while Anton Lienert-Brown could earn a start at inside centre after impressing from the bench in recent matches.