Newshub Live at 6pm sports presenter Andrew Gourdie will be off air for six to eight weeks due to undergoing back surgery.
Gourdie posted a lengthy update on social media revealing the pain and pressure he has been under while broadcasting. He shared pictures of the X-ray of the affected area, and photos of himself kneeling down in the studio in between presenting stories.
He said his surgeon told him the fracture had "been there for more than 20 years" and could be "an old injury from my cricketing days as a battling bowler!"
"Tomorrow morning I will be going under the knife for a decompression and fusion on my lower back. I'll be off-air for six to eight weeks. Scans show I have a fracture in my L5 vertebrae," Gourdie said.
"Over time, the effects of that injury have compounded, the vertebrae has moved, and I now have a trapped nerve that's not going to fix itself.
"For the last year, I've not been able to stand up for more than about five minutes at a time.
"The only way to relieve the sciatic pain running down my right leg while reading the sports news every night is to crouch down.
"Given the surgery is on my back I'm naturally a bit freaked out about it, but I know it has to be done."
Gourdie also thanked his wife Kate, who will "be looking after our boys (and me!)", his father who'd come up from Christchurch and his Newshub bosses who "have been hugely supportive".
He concluded the post saying he was "hoping once this is all over I'll be back to running around after the kids, and mowing the lawns without having to lay down afterwards".