The All Whites will be without their most influential player at the Confederations Cup in Russia next month.
Captain Winston Reid has had surgery for an unusual knee injury involving a bone growth and will be out for up to 12 weeks.
The 28-year-old has been playing through the pain barrier for West Ham in recent weeks.
"I’ve struggled with [the injury] for the last six weeks and it hasn’t got any better, so it’s just been about managing the load, really,” said Reid from London.
"Obviously I’m really disappointed to be missing the Confederations Cup, but if I had gone there and played, it would not have got better.
"If the Confederations Cup was nine or 10 days away, I’d probably have given it a go, but the fact it is another month away and it’s not getting any better made my decision.
"We gave it a try for three weeks with some different methods to see if it would react in a different way, but unfortunately it didn’t, so I had to go in for an operation. It is what it is.”
Coach Anthony Hudson's is taking the loss on his chin, with their decisive World Cup qualifying games looming later in the year.
"It is really disappointing news," said Hudson.
"I could hear in his voice how much he wanted to come. He has been in touch leading up to this tournament for so long and had friends and family coming over.
"It was a tournament that our captain wanted to be a part of, but not only be a part of but to do something significant so I feel pretty bad for him.
“It is a pretty significant injury and I am hoping that if he gets this done then he will be back in time for our qualifiers when it really counts."
Prolific Leeds United striker Chris Wood will lead the New Zealand side in Reid's absence once again at what is one of FIFA's biggest tournaments.
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