All Black and Chiefs fullback Mils Muliaina is expected to miss the next month of Super rugby with a back injury.

Muliaina had to leave the field in the Chiefs home win against the Melbourne Rebels at Waikato Stadium on Saturday.

The All Black took a knock in the opening stages of the match and tried to lay on but had to come off after the first quarter.

Chiefs coach Ian Foster has confirmed that the Chiefs will be without their captain for a month and he suggested that a small fracture was at the root of the problem but further diagnosis was required.

Luckily for the Chiefs Muliaina’s replacement Tim Nanai-Williams has been in top form after he spent most of last season covering for Muliaina when the captain broke his thumb.

All Blacks loose forward Liam Messam will take over the captaincy role in Muliaina’s absence.

The Chiefs picked up their first win of the season last weekend and Muliaina will not be happy at missing out after the team has turned a corner.

The Chiefs have a tough fourth round tie against the Hurricanes on Saturday.