The Blues have suffered a setback as captain Patrick Tuipolotu has been ruled out of their Shop N Save Super Rugby Pacific semi final clash against the Brumbies this weekend after suffering a knee injury against the Swire Shipping Fijian Drua over the weekend.
Tuipolotu tore his knee ligament and will miss the rest of the Super Rugby Pacific playoffs and will also be unavailable for the All Blacks when they take on England in July.
He lasted 19 minutes against the Drua and was seen nursing the knee with an icepack from the bench for the rest of the game.
The 31-year-old will be sidelined for 6-7 weeks and is likely to be back in action for the All Blacks during the Rugby Championship.
The Blues will host the Brumbies at 7.05pm this Friday at Eden Park while the Hurricanes play the Chiefs at 4.35pm Saturday in Wellington.
