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Auckland - New Zealand centre Ryan Crotty has been ruled out of rugby for at least four weeks after he suffered a cracked jaw in the All Blacks' win over the Wallabies on Saturday.
Crotty was a late callup for the team to replace Ma'a Nonu, who suffered a shoulder injury in the drawn Rugby Championship opener in Sydney last week.
"Ryan is out for four weeks. He's cracked a bone in the top of his jaw," All Blacks coach Steve Hansen told reporters in Auckland on Sunday. "It's really unfortunate for him."
Nonu, however, is expected to be fit to return to the side when they face Argentina on 6 September in Napier.
Flyhalves Beauden Barrett and Aaron Cruden nursed minor injuries after the crushing 51-20 win at Eden Park, which allowed New Zealand to retain the Bledisloe Cup, but both were expected to be fit for the Pumas.
Long-serving flyhalf Dan Carter, who broke a bone in his leg during the Super Rugby final, was not expected to be fit until the week of the 27 September match against Argentina in La Plata.
"But we're not going to rush that either," Hansen said. "We want to make sure that he's right to play.
"There's probably a likelihood that if he's not right we won't do that.
"We won't just rush him straight in. We want him to be feeling really comfortable and excited about being back when the time is right to be back."
