All Blacks star Dan Carter to miss Bledisloe Cup clashes against Wallabies with calf injury

THE Wallabies have a received a Bledisloe Cup boost - of sorts - with All Black nemesis Dan Carter ruled out of Saturday's first clash.

THE Wallabies have a received a Bledisloe Cup boost - of sorts - with All Black nemesis Dan Carter ruled out of Saturday's first clash at ANZ Stadium with a calf injury.

Carter pulled up sore at New Zealand training in Wellington and scans revealed a small tear, which will keep the star No. 10 sidelined for up to four weeks.

The diagnosis means Carter will miss the second Bledisloe Cup fixture with the Wallabies next week in Wellington as well.

On the face it, the news should enhance Australia's chances of victory and snapping their 10-year Bledisloe Cup drought, but the Kiwis have the luxury of calling on Aaron Cruden to step in relatively seamlessly.

Cruden has been in superb form in the last few months and led the Chiefs to their second straight Super Rugby title two weeks ago. The youngster has been so good, in fact, there was some debate in New Zealand about whether Cruden might even displace Carter in the black No.10 jersey.

That bold selection wasn't going to happen, but injury means the Kiwis will turn to Cruden, who started his first Test match against Australia at the same venue in 2010.

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Carter pulled up tight after Friday's training game at the Hutt Recreation Ground. Lingering tightness on Monday saw the star go for scans, which revealed the bad news.

Carter tweeted today: "I don't seem to have much luck with injuries when I'm in Wellington."

All Black coach Steve Hansen said the strain was a recurrence of an old injury.

"He was a bit sore after training so we got a scan and unfortunately he's damaged his calf,'' said Hansen.

"It's disappointing for Dan... it's not a biggie. It's just something that is a nuisance more than anything else."

Though it's not the first time Carter has suffered a calf injury, he told New Zealand media he didn't believe there was a chronic problem.

"They have been good all year to be honest,'' Carter said.

"This is the first time I have had a calf injury this year. It's important I just do the rehab so it's not an ongoing thing for the rest of the year. It's a bit frustrating, especially when the body feels good.

"When you have a wee setback like this it is always frustrating. I have had injuries like this before so I know what I have to do to get out playing and playing as well as I can.

"I felt a wee niggle through training yesterday and we had a scan and pretty much (decided then) after it showed a minor strain. Running on it the next couple of days will only make it worse so I will be being pretty precautionary and looking after it to make sure I get back to full fitness."

Carter was unsure of when he injured his calf.

"No, often after injuries like this that are minor there is a lot of `why and when did it happen?' I'm not sure 100 per cent. I just have to deal with it and make sure I get it 100 per cent right."

Wallabies back Adam Ashley-Cooper expected Cruden to step up in Carter's absence.

"Obviously that’s a big loss for the Kiwis but there’s enough depth to cover that. Aaron Cruden will do a pretty good job," Ashley-Cooper said.

"He will slot right in there pretty nicely. I don’t think there will be too much of a disruption to the Kiwi team.

"They’ve got a few there, very talented five-eighths, in the likes of Aaron Cruden and even Ben Smith, so the options they have there will do a great job and I don’t think it will be too much of a disruption to the backline. They’re all five-eighths coming off a pretty successful campaign.”