New Zealand All Blacks’ fly half Dan Carter has been ruled out of the next eight weeks of rugby as he needs surgery.

Carter will undergo ankle surgery which will keep him on the sidelines until after the All Blacks final TriNations match against Australia on September the 11th.

Carter broke the record for rugby union Test points when he kicked his third penalty on Saturday’s 22-29 TriNations sealing match against the Springboks.

All Blacks doctor Deb Robinson revealed that Carter had been troubled by niggling pain in his right ankle for the whole year.

“It’s reached the point now where it is restricting his ankle flexibility and, in turn, affecting his calf muscle strength, so now is the right time to have surgery,” Robinson told AFP.

Robinson said the surgery will take place in Christchurch on Tuesday and would involve removing loose material from the back of his ankle as well as a bone spur which will be removed from the front of his ankle.

Carter added that he felt that the time was right for the operation.

“Given that movement in my foot is being affected, it’s obviously in my best interests to have the surgery now,” he said.

“I’ve been in this situation before and understand what is involved so will get through the surgery and rehab and then look forward to getting back into rugby.”

Robinson says that Carter will be in a cast initially to allow the joint to settle before he would be able to resume training and a recovery period of up to eight weeks should be required.

All Blacks coach Graham Henry said: “Dan is the ultimate rugby professional when it comes to injury rehabilitation and, with the help of the All Blacks medical staff, he will be getting the best treatment possible and we look forward to his return to rugby.”

“Looking ahead to the Sydney Test, the selectors will look at a replacement player for Dan so we will be watching a bit of ITM Cup rugby over the next two weekends and confirm the player in due course,” Henry added.