All Black loose forward Liam Squire has been ruled out for a likely four to six weeks with a knee injury.
Squire picked up the injury in the first half against the Crusaders at the weekend, although saw out the remainder of the game. An accurate diagnosis would be made in the coming days.
Meanwhile, centre Jason Emery has been ruled out for the rest of the season after rupturing his achilles playing in the curtain raiser to Saturday night's game.
“I really feel for Jason. He has looked very sharp through preseason and was looking to make it a big year. I know he is a positive guy and he will work hard to come back from this and get back to fitness for 2018.” head coach Tony Brown said.
The injuries were the latest to the Highlanders, which has an injury list which includes senior players Ben Smith, Ash Dixon, Dan Pryor, Shane Christie, Luke Whitelock and Marty Banks among others.
The team is down to its sixth hooker, is missing three openside flankers and both of its captains.
However, Brown was remaining positive.
“Unfortunately injuries are part of the game and while we are having our depth tested currently, we have faith in the resilience and talent within our squad. On the up side, hopefully a few of our senior players will be back soon."