The Crusaders said on Tuesday that New Zealand All Blacks star Will Jordan is set to be sidelined for the next six months with a shoulder injury, ruling him out of the Super Rugby Pacific season.
Never easy sharing this news, but we’re gutted to not have Will Jordan taking to the field for us in 2024 😢
— Crusaders (@crusadersrugby) February 19, 2024
Looking forward to seeing Will back out on the pitch later in the year 👊🏼 pic.twitter.com/jGBpHnnurv
Jordan, 25, needs surgery on a pre-existing injury from last season, the Crusaders said.
It is a blow to the defending Super Rugby champions who start their 2024 campaign under new head coach Rob Penney away to the Chiefs in Hamilton on Friday in a repeat of last year's final.
"After assessment from the Crusaders medical team he will undergo surgery and as a result be unavailable for selection during the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific season," the Crusaders said in a statement.
The full-back or winger is expected to return in "approximately six months", the Crusaders added, meaning Jordan will miss the All Blacks matches in July with two home tests against England and one with Fiji in San Diego.
He could also sit out half of the Rugby Championship for New Zealand in August and September. Jordan has scored 31 tries in as many tests for New Zealand since his debut in 2020.
He finished as top try-scorer at last year's Rugby World Cup in France, touching down eight times including a hat-trick in the semifinal win over Argentina before New Zealand lost 12-11 to South Africa in the final.
The Christchurch-based Crusaders had already suffered a pre-season injury setback with British and Irish Lions full-back Leigh Halfpenny sidelined for up to four months with a torn pectoral muscle.