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The Crusaders have paid a high price for their all out effort in a losing cause against the Brumbies on Saturday with hooker Corey Flynn likely to miss the rest of the Super 14 rugby season with a broken arm from the match.
Flynn was forced off with the arm injury as the ACT Brumbies got home 18-16 on the back of a last-minute try from Mark Gerrard and a difficult conversion from Stirling Mortlock in Canberra.
The All Black hooker's worst fears were confirmed via a scan today which revealed a complete fracture of the radius - the same one he broke while playing in for the All Blacks against Munster in Limerick late last year.
This is the fourth time the nuggety hooker has broken his left arm - in 2002 he broke it playing for Southland and again the following year while playing for the Crusaders.
In May last year, he fractured his right arm while playing in the Super 14 semifinal against the Hurricanes.
Flynn will now discuss his options with an orthopaedic surgeon.
He will be replaced by Jason Macdonald, with wider training group hooker Daniel Perrin called into the squad as cover.
Meanwhile, Crusaders halfback Andy Ellis, who also left the field early on Saturday night with an injury, will have his ankle sprain reviewed this week as to his availability for Friday night's match against the Hurricanes at Christchurch.
Tyson Keats has been brought into the squad as halfback cover.
Kahn Fotuali'i will wear the No 9 jersey if Ellis is ruled out.
The availability of flanker Richie McCaw (concussion) and Brad Thorn (heel) will also be reviewed this week.
Fullback Leon MacDonald (shoulder) will not be available.
Crusaders head coach Todd Blackadder said the injuries were tough on the individuals concerned but was confident their replacements would make the necessary step up.
"It's really unfortunate, especially for Corey who has had some terrible luck with both of his arms," Blackadder said.
"However, we'll still put a very competitive team on the field for the Hurricanes game.
"We learned some key things in the loss to the Brumbies and the players are very keen to put them into practice on Friday night."
- NZPA
