The Chiefs are sweating over the fitness of All Blacks midfielder Anton Lienert-Brown, after a shoulder injury suffered in Saturday's 25-0 defeat to the Blues.
Lienert-Brown, 26, was forced from the field in the opening 10 minutes and was seen with his arm in a sling later in the evening.
Newshub understands Lienert-Brown will meet with specialists on Monday, awaiting scans to determine the extent of his injury and whether surgery will be required.
Afterwards, coach Clayton McMillan described Lienert-Brown's injury as "not great".
"He's putting on a brave face, but initial reports are [that] it's not looking good," he said. "His arm's in a sling at the moment.
"He's got a big bang on it in a tackle, someone's come in and hit him in a spot.
"It might be one of those things that turns up tomorrow and it's better, but initially it doesn't look great."
The injury comes on the same shoulder Lienert-Brown dislocated on All Blacks northern tour last year, forcing him out of the 40-25 defeat to France at Paris.
While no prognosis is yet available, All Blacks and Chiefs captain Sam Cane is resigned to bad news.
"I certainly feel for him," said Cane. "He's a massive part of our team and probably closing in on 100 games too.
"I'm not going to feel too sorry for him yet. I'm going to hold my fingers crossed and hope that it's initially not as bad as we thought, but probably [my] gut feel is he's in a bit of strife."
Any absence for Lienert-Brown would only add to the Chiefs casualty ward, with All Blacks lock Brodie Retallick also sidelined with a broken thumb.
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