Squire blow for All Blacks

The All Blacks have been will be without the services of blindside flanker Liam Squire for the next three weeks.

Squire was forced from the field in the 59th minute of the loss to South Africa in Wellington and has since been diagnosed with a hand injury.

All Blacks coach Steve Hansen confirmed that the injury won't require surgery, to effectively heal.

Squire will now miss the test matches against  Argentina in Buenos Aires in two weeks time as well as the return fixture against the Springboks in Pretoria a week later.

Shannon Frizzell is likely to replace Squire in the starting line up while Vaea Fifita is likely to receive a recall to the side. 

There were no further injuries to report, butt Hansen admitted there were still plenty of players in pain after conceding their first loss against their old rivals on home soil since 2009.

"I think they've got sore hearts, not bodies," said Hansen. "They're still hurting. Hopefully they hurt for a while.

"We'll all have to dwell on it until we play Argentina, that's the first chance we'll have to get rid of it.

"There are some good lessons to be learnt and we've got to make sure we learn them."