All Blacks: Dane Coles out for four to six months

From a personnel perspective at least, the All Blacks are limping towards the end of their season.

Dane Coles' ruptured anterior cruciate ligament - a four-to-six month injury - leaves the All Blacks without four of their starting tight five for the final three games of the year.

Coles will return home for surgery after the match against the French XV in Lyon on Wednesday (NZT), joining fellow front-rowers Joe Moody, Owen Franks and the world's premier lock Brodie Retallick on the unavailable list. That's from the forward pack alone.

Jerome Kaino left Paris with knee issues of his own; then there are a host of outside backs, including vice-captain Ben Smith, absent from this squad.

Lock Luke Romano is the latest concern with an inner ear cut and sore foot. Captain Kieran Read also came off early with what All Blacks coach Steve Hansen described as a minor groin complaint at Stade de France.

Coles, the Hurricanes captain, twisted his knee while falling awkwardly 13 minutes into the All Blacks' 38-18 win in Paris. He will now miss the majority of next year's Super Rugby campaign, just as he did this season with concussion.

Those four-month struggles robbed him of the chance to play any part in the coveted British and Irish Lions series, and seriously threatened his career.

"It's disappointing for him but at the same time having recovered from the head knock an ACL is nothing really," Hansen said. "He'll come back from that."

Off the field, Coles is a genuine bloke and well-liked member of this All Blacks squad. While his team-mates were feeling for him ahead of another long layoff, they couldn't help slide in the odd jibe about Coles' relentless on-field ribbing.

"You don't want to see that happen to anyone especially a guy who missed out on the Lions series this year," All Blacks and Highlanders first five-eighth Lima Sopoaga said.

"He's worked so hard to get back but the character of the man he will be back bigger, fitter, stronger and I'm sure even more mouthy come Super Rugby. For the early rounds it will be good not to see him on the field but come the backend I know he'll have plenty of fine words saved up that he's ready to use."

Hurricanes partner in crime Ardie Savea offered an insight into what Coles will be like, both physically and verbally at training, when he eventually makes his comeback next year.

"After his concussion break when he came back for the first time that whole week with the Hurricanes he was on fire so it will be interesting to see what he will be like this time," Savea said. "He wears his heart on his sleeve and is so passionate about performing well."

The All Blacks will not call in a replacement, leaving Codie Taylor as the starting hooker with Nathan Harris and, to a lesser extent, Wellington rookie Asafo Aumua to provide support.

Losing Coles will force the All Blacks to monitor Harris' minutes in Lyon as he will needed from the bench four days later against Scotland in Edinburgh.

That will probably pave the way for Aumua, who savoured his first 12 minutes for the All Blacks against the Barbarians at Twickenham, to enjoy a longer stint in Lyon.

Come next year, Aumua will fight it out with Taranaki's Ricky Riccitelli for the hooking role at the Canes.