Three players have been brought into All Blacks camp as injury cover, with the prospect of more before their first test against France at Eden Park on Saturday.
Locks Luke Romano and Tom Franklin have joined the squad in Auckland, along with unlucky openside flanker Matt Todd.
Romano and Franklin will be on stand-by, with front-line second-rowers Sam Whitelock and Brodie Retallick both carrying injury concerns for this week's series opener. Whitelock has missed three straight games for the Crusaders, after suffering a head injury against the Waratahs.
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Retallick did not return to the field after halftime of the Chiefs vs Crusaders clash on Saturday night, nursing a shoulder injury. On RadioLIVE Sunday Sport, Chiefs coach Colin Cooper expressed doubt that Retallick would be ready for the first test against France and thought he could miss the entire series.
Another first-choice player under a cloud is vice-captain and flanker Sam Cane, who has not played Super Rugby in six weeks with a side strain. He was listed to come off the bench for the Chiefs on Saturday night, but was also a late scratching.
Several others must also be in doubt for Saturday's match - no midfield replacement has yet been summoned to replace Sonny Bill Williams, who underwent knee surgery last week. Centre Ryan Crotty is another to miss recent games with concussion issues.
Meanwhile, loose forward Liam Squire has earned a repreive from further punishment, after he was yellow-carded for a high tackle during the Highlanders win over the Hurricanes on Friday night.
Squire was sin-binned for his hit on Hurricanes winger Julian Savea, but the Sanzaar judiciary ruled his tackle was unavoidable and not malicious.
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