All Blacks and Crusaders skipper Richie McCaw on Tuesday said he does not expect to recover from his foot surgery until April, ruling him out of the first five rounds of the Super Rugby season.
"By March, I should be pretty close to knowing when I'll be back, but I'd say some time in April. But I don't want to put too tight a time frame on it.
"Start straight line running and then walk, jog, that's what we're doing at the moment. Then you go to being able to run for a bit longer, then a bit of change of direction and then team training and then playing."
The Crusaders will also be without the services of star flyhalf Dan Carter during the opening Super Rugby rounds, after he suffered a groin injury during the World Cup.
The Crusaders head to South Africa for two matches against the Lions in Johannesburg on March 31 and Bulls in Pretoria on April 7, before they host the Stormers on April 14.
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