The All Blacks will be without skipper Ardie Savea for the fourth and final Test of Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series in Baltimore after he suffered a shoulder injury during Saturday's 24-29 loss to the Springboks at FNB Stadium.
Savea was withdrawn after just 30 minutes, by which point he had already crossed for two tries with the All Blacks holding the upper hand. Wallace Sititi replaced him and performed solidly on his first appearance of the tour, but the All Blacks fell apart in the second half.
"He was massive, wasn't he," All Blacks coach Dave Rennie said. "But Wallace came on and he played well. We certainly aren't going to use that as an excuse."
Rennie confirmed the injury is to Savea's shoulder — possibly a dislocation — and ruled him out of the trip to the United States entirely.
The All Blacks are also monitoring centre Quinn Tupaea, who was forced off early in the second half with what Rennie described as a possible MCL injury. His availability for Baltimore remains uncertain pending assessment.
Both squads are scheduled to travel to the United States together on the same flight in the early hours of Sunday morning.