Robbie Fruean will miss the rest of the Vodacom Super Rugby season after breaking his arm against the Chiefs.

Fruean has had surgery to insert a plate in his arm and will take four to five months to recover.

'We know that Robbie wanted to make this a great season so this is hugely disappointing for him,' coach Todd Blackadder said.

The injury is another hurdle in the talented 26-year-old's stop-start career, which has been hampered by a heart condition stemming from a childhood bout of rheumatic fever.

He has been talked about as an All Blacks contender at various points in his career, but such ambitions have been stymied by two rounds of open-heart surgery.

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