All Blacks’ young star Wallace Sititi is set to miss a major part of the Super Rugby campaign after suffering a knee injury in the Autumn Series, with reports he could be out for the entire season.

The Waikato Times reported Thursday that the 2024 World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year requires surgery to fix his issue, adding it will “rule him out for a chunk, if not the entire, Super season, which kicks off on February 14 and runs through till June 21.”

Sititi and the rest of the All Blacks are still on leave and don’t rejoin their teams until later in January. The paper said coach Clayton McMillan was expected to update fans on Sititi’s situation later on Thursday.

Sititi is reported to be waiting to see a surgeon to determine the seriousness of the injury.

Sititi played 80 minutes in all five matches of the All Blacks’ Autumn Series Tests following his stunning breakthrough as the Chiefs made the Super Rugby final in 2024.

He posted a message on soial media on New Year’s Eve, saying a “tough start to the year” was incoming.

Sititi debuted off the bench against Fiji in San Diego in July, before impressing in The Rugby Championship against the Springboks and Wallabies.

The Chiefs will also be without Shaun Stevenson, who has been allowed to miss the opening three matches of the Super season to have a short-term stint in Japanese rugby.

Sititi’s absence could be a boost for former Brumby Jahrome Brown, who has just joined the Chiefs.