TJ Perenara set for spell on the sidelines

Hurricanes & All Blacks scrum-half TJ Perenara is set for a spell on the sidelines after rupturing his medial cruciate ligament in last Friday's 38-37 win over the Sharks in Napier.

Perenara is expected to be out for two to eight weeks after feeling a 'pop' in a tackle but pushed through the pain and discomfort for another 10 minutes until half-time, Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd said on Wednesday.

"The really interesting thing about TJ is they're not 100 per cent sure whether [the injury is] new or it's historical. TJ's Tj, so he thinks he'll be playing in two weeks time, but I think it's probably likely to be a little longer than that," said Boyd.

In the absence of Perenara for Friday's New Zealand derby against the Chiefs, Jamie Booth has been named to start in the No. 9 jersey with Richard Judd providing additional cover off the bench.

Julian Savea is another notable absentee in the back-line after missing the critical Monday training session and as per team policy, that means not being picked for the weekend.