All Black Anton Lienert-Brown set to miss six months after surgery

Chiefs Anton Lienert-Brown leaves the field injured. Photo / Photosport.co.nz

All Blacks midfielder Anton Lienert-Brown is set for a six month stint on the sidelines after undergoing shoulder surgery.

He confirmed the plan for dealing with his injury, suffered in Super Rugby Pacific at the weekend, in a post on Instagram on Monday night.

"Shoulder is going to need a bit more work than I was hoping," Lienert-Brown wrote.

"Going under the knife this week which will put me out for 6 months. A bump in the road but the journey continues. I'll be back ... appreciate all the support".

Lienert-Brown left Waikato Stadium clutching his shoulder in the seventh minute of the Chiefs' 25-0 defeat to the Blues – the home side's first shutout in their 26-year history.

The 56-test veteran partially dislocated his right shoulder in last year's loss to Ireland in Dublin, forcing him to miss the final test of the year. On Saturday night, while attempting a jackal turnover, Lienert-Brown copped a heavy blow that may result in another dislocation to the same shoulder.

Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan was hoping for the best while fearing the worst after the game.

"Not great," McMillan said of Lienert-Brown following their loss. "He's putting on a brave face but initial reports are that it's not looking good. His arm is in a sling."

After watching Lienert-Brown endure an injury-disrupted 2021 test campaign, All Blacks captain Sam Cane felt for his team-mate.

"He's a massive part of our team and must be closing in on 100 games," Cane said. "I'm not going to feel too sorry for him yet. I'll cross my fingers and hope it's not as bad as initially thought but my gut feel is he may be in a bit of strife."

The Chiefs have midfield cover in the form of fellow All Blacks second five-eighth Quinn Tupaea and Alex Nankivell but Lienert-Brown's absence is another blow after successive home defeats to the Crusaders and Blues.

It's also far from ideal as All Blacks coach Ian Foster attempts to plot his midfield combinations for the three-test series against Ireland in July.