Richard Buckman is set for a season of off-field promotions - rather than lining up in the 2016 Super Rugby competition - but he remains positive.

Buckman injured his shoulder while scoring a try in the Highlanders' first pre-season fixture against French club Racing 92 in Hong Kong on Saturday.

The hope was he would would be sidelined for seven weeks and would be able to rejoin the Highlanders for the second half of the competition.

However, he was handed the news on Wednesday night which he didn't want - he requires surgery and will miss the remainder of the campaign.

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"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.

Buckman has been an unlikely star for the Highlanders since 2014, when he made the move from the Hurricanes, where he saw little game time.

The utility back has proved more than useful, both on the wing and in the midfield, and the man dubbed the Barracuda has developed a cult following.

Much of that can be put down to his Highlanders team-mate Joe Wheeler, who created a song in his honour.

Wheeler and his team-mates pulled out the song at the aftermatch function in Hong Kong as a tribute to Buckman, which proved an internet hit.

"I was getting an x-ray at the time, I think he was looking for that limelight again. No he's a good man, I'm just not sure how he's got that song back out there."