Kiwi paceman Doug Bracewell has been ruled out for at least six weeks after injuring his knee in a domestic Twenty20 match.
Bracewell, 26, wrenched his left knee in the outfield for the Central Districts Stags on Saturday against the Knights.
He will miss New Zealand's home Test and ODI series against Bangladesh over the New Year and possibly the ODI series in late January against Australia.
Bracewell has not played for New Zealand since October, when he took part in an ODI against India.
He was overlooked by Kiwi selectors for the Pakistan Test series and was not used in the recent Chappell-Hadlee ODI series.
"Disappointing to see him go down like that," Stags teammate Ben Wheeler said.
"The outfield, it just didn't dry, and I think what happened with Doug, it probably had a bit to play in that."
