All Blacks centre Quinn Tupaea will be out for nine months after being injured against Australia. -AAP Image
New Zealand centre Quinn Tupaea will sidelined for nine months with the knee injury he sustained during a cleanout by Australia's Darcy Swain in Melbourne earlier this month that incensed the All Blacks.
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The team said on Thursday further scans on the anterior cruciate ligament injury revealed "more extensive damage" that would require surgery, extending the player's period on the sidelines by six months.
The 23-year-old Waikato Chiefs player will miss the whole of next year's Super Rugby season and could face a challenging time getting back into All Blacks reckoning in time for 2023's Rugby World Cup in France.
The news will only increase the anger in New Zealand at Swain's ruck cleanout, which All Blacks fullback Beauden Barrett described as a "free shot" on a defenceless Tupaea.
Swain was shown a yellow card for clattering into Tupaea's extended leg and later cited after officials decided the incident met the red-card threshold.
The lock was suspended for six weeks and will miss Tests against Scotland and France in the Wallabies' upcoming northern hemisphere tour.
The same player was suspended for two weeks in July after being shown a red card for headbutting England second-rower Jonny Hill in retaliation for having his hair pulled.
