Sonny Bill Willliams to miss French series

The All Blacks have announced superstar midfielder Sonny Bill Williams will miss the June test series against France after he injured his knee at the training camp in Christchurch this week.

It is the latest of yet another high profile injury suffered at the controversial mid-season All Blacks camps. The team advised that he aggravated an old knee injury, and Blues medical staff say he will undergo a surgery today to clean up a loose piece of bone in his knee joint.

He will be out of rugby for "several weeks", after only returning recently from a broken wrist. His form for the Blues has been outstanding, leaving questions as to who will fill the 12 jersey for the All Blacks with Ryan Crotty a likely candidate to move in one position.

However, Crotty is dealing with a series of head knocks suffered in Super Rugby and has doubts of his own. The All Blacks have Ngani Laumape, Anton Lienert-Brown, and Jack Goodhue as cover.