All Blacks first five-eighth Aaron Cruden is out of this year's Rugby World Cup in Britain.

The Chiefs on Monday confirmed following an afternoon scan on Cruden's injured knee that he has ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, putting him out for at least six months.

Cruden suffered the injury when his knee collapsed on him while he was running during the Chiefs' 26-9 victory over the Crusaders in Christchurch last Friday night.



In a statement, the Chiefs said their playmaker would see a surgeon on Wednesday to arrange surgery.

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Traditional reconstruction surgery had been deemed the most appropriate course of action given Cruden's young age (26) and long-term career prospects.



The expected return-to-play time for this sort of surgery was six months, the statement said.



Cruden had been expecting to be rested from the Chiefs' next match against the Force in Hamilton on Friday night as part of his All Blacks' planned rest during Super Rugby in the lead-up to the World Cup but will now take no further part in the Hamilton-based franchise's 2015 campaign.



His demise for the rest of this year means the All Blacks must now rely on Beauden Barrett, Dan Carter and Colin Slade as the remaining established first-fives in their fold, while the form of Lima Sopoaga for the high-flying Highlanders this year may have thrust him into contention as well.

Cruden has scored 280 points for the All Blacks in 37 test appearances since making his test debut in 2010 against Ireland in New Plymouth.

The Manawatu pivot has also played 81 Super Rugby games, the bulk of them for the Chiefs since 2012 after making his debut for the Hurricanes in 2010.

Cruden was also the Junior World Player of the Year in 2009 after captaining that year's New Zealand Under-20 team to a Junior World Championship.