Whetu Douglas made six appearances for the Crusaders before leaving the team to prepare for a move to Italian club Treviso. He proved to be one of the best performers in the forward pack, making five starts and an appearance as a substitute.

Whetu Douglas could help the Crusaders in their time of need.

With No 8 Kieran Read fracturing his right thumb during the Crusaders' 48-21 win over the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Sunday morning, coach Scott Robertson has a stack of injured loose forwards on his books.

All Blacks captain Read, who is expected to be out for at least six weeks, has joined flanker Jed Brown (hamstring) and flanker/lock Mitchell Dunshea (dislocated elbow) in the Crusaders' casualty ward.

KIERAN READ/FACEBOOK Kieran Read posted a photo of himself in a hospital bed in Bloemfontein, having had surgery to repair a fractured thumb.

This is where Douglas, the No 8 who proved so impressive when he made six appearances for the Crusaders in their first seven games, re-enters the story.

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* Life at Crusaders without Read

* If Read is out, who is next?

* Fractured thumb for Kieran Read

Last month the 26 year old, originally drafted in from the Waikato as injury cover because Read had to miss the first six rounds while recovering from wrist surgery, left the Crusaders so he could prepare for the move to Italy where he is contracted to play for the Treviso club for the next two seasons.

The good news is Douglas, wife and three pre-school children aren't scheduled to leave New Zealand until May 28.

In the wake of Read's mishap in South Africa, Robertson contacted Douglas, who has returned to the North Island, to ask if there was any chance of rushing across the Indian Ocean ahead of the Crusaders' next match against the Bulls in Pretoria this weekend.

But there were complications; although the Crusaders already had a visa organised for South Africa, Douglas's passport was still with the Italian embassy and his wife has been recovering from oral surgery. Lock Quinten Strange was called-up as a replacement, instead.

Douglas said if Robertson still wanted him for the round-12 game, against the Hurricanes in Christchurch, he could assist.

"If Razor still needs me, that would probably be more likely," Douglas said in reference to the Hurricanes game. "We have gone back to thinking about it, and we will try and make it happen if they need me there."

Treviso, who have only one more game to play before their season is finished, suggested to Douglas he could stay longer at the Crusaders before he left - and Robertson hoped he would stay as cover for the injured Brown and Dunshea.

But Douglas opted to put his wife and children first. He elected to leave the Crusaders following the match against the Sunwolves on April 14 because Read had proved himself to be fully fit, he wanted time to shift out of their property, to farewell whanau up north and get his family ready for the big shift.

"For me, it is better to get the family over there with a bit more time to get settled in," he said. "To make it easier for them, so I could just flow into the season.

"If I was by myself it would be easy to hop and fro, to go everywhere. But my main focus is my family. And then I worked around that."

Douglas has signed a two-year deal with Treviso but has an out-clause after the first season.

The Crusaders said they could be interested in signing him when he decides to return. The Chiefs, who will farewell back rower Michael Leitch after 2018 because he has signed with the Sunwolves, could also ask Douglas if he wants to return to Hamilton.

"Yes, there has been interest," he said.

"Obviously it is form-focused. We will wait and see."