Injury rules Highlanders Richard Buckman out of Super Rugby

Buckman injured his shoulder during a Highlanders'  match against French club Racing 92 in Hong Kong on Saturday.

Unfortunately the injury is serious enough to require surgery and will miss the rest of the season.

It is obviously pretty disappointing, I was looking forward to another big season trying to defend that title.

"But it is just one of those things you can't do too much about now and look forward to the future and see the positives and get all my injuries right," he said.

"I went and saw the surgeon last night and he gave me the news which was pretty tough. It was a tough sleep last night."

He will spend the new few weeks strengthening the shoulder before surgery in March.