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Second seed Guillermo Canas will almost certainly miss January's Heineken Open tennis tournament.
The world No 15 Argentinian is suffering tendinitis of the left wrist and is expected to be sidelined until next April.
Tournament director Graham Pearce said he had yet to officially receive news that Canas wouldn't be making the trip to Auckland but he was aware the player had withdrawn from the Australian Open the following week.
Canas' withdrawal appears to be merely a formality.
"Obviously it is disappointing but I guess if we had to have a withdrawal, this would be a good year for it to happen as the field is so strong."
Its slot at the start of the tennis season meant the Auckland tournament avoided a lot of disruption from injury-related withdrawals, Pearce said.
Austrian Werner Eschauer, the world No 66, is expected to take Canas' place in the draw for Auckland.
