Charlie Ngatai has been ruled out of the Chiefs' quarter-final against the Stormers at Newlands on Saturday.

The centre started in the Chiefs' last round-robin game of the season against the Brumbies in Hamilton last weekend, but was forced to leave the field with an ankle injury.

Coach Dave Rennie told Stuff.co.nz that Ngatai did not travel with the rest of the team to Cape Town for the playoff game because they could not risk taking an injured player on tour.

'His ankle just wasn't good enough. We're not in a position to take a risk. We're only allowed to bring 25 guys, and needed to make sure that if we got any illness or injury late in the week, that we had suitable cover.'

Meanwhile, lock Dominic Bird and loose forward Liam Messam are available for selection after recovering from their respective injuries. All Blacks Brodie Retallick, Sam Cane and Anton Lienert-Brown, who sat out the match against the Brumbies, were also in the touring group.

Photo: Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images