Aaron Cruden has refused to give up hope of appearing in this year ’ s World Cup , but the harsh truth is that the All Blacks ’ title defence has suffered an early blow with the likely loss of their No 10 . The 26-year-old Waikato Chiefs fly-half received grim confirmation on Monday that he has ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and will be out for six months . Aaron Cruden is almost certain to miss the World Cup after scans revealed the need for knee surgery . Cruden hobbles off the field after damaging his knee during the round 10 Super Rugby match . Four years after New Zealand ’ s quest to claim the Webb Ellis Cup was so nearly derailed by an injury to Dan Carter , his successor has suffered the same fate — albeit much earlier . Cruden has started 15 Tests for the world champions in the last two years , establishing himself as first choice . ‘ I haven ’ t completely ruled out making the World Cup , ’ he said . ‘ I still don ’ t know if it ’ s sunk in. ’ New Zealand coach Steve Hansen added : ‘ He has developed into a very good All Black and is a key member of our team . He will be a loss for the Chiefs and the All Blacks. ’ England lock Joe Launchbury is hopeful of making his comeback in Wasps ’ Premiership clash with Leicester on May 9 . Launchbury has been sidelined since October because of a nerve problem caused by a bulging disc in his neck . Cruden will see a surgeon on Wednesday to arrange a knee reconstruction in the coming weeks . The knee surgery will rule him out of action for at least six weeks , meaning he will miss the World Cup . Leicester have announced the signing of Australia back-three player Peter Betham from Super 15 champions the Waratahs . Meanwhile , the final of the inaugural European Champions Cup is set to be played out in front of a sparse crowd at Twickenham on May 2 . Ticket sales had crept just past 25,000 before the semi-finals and with two French clubs — Clermont Auvergne and Toulon — contesting the showpiece , a crowd of under 40,000 is expected at the 82,000-capacity stadium . That would be the smallest attendance for a final of the continent ’ s elite event since 2003 , when Toulouse and Perpignan attracted just 28,600 in Dublin . Toulon are set to be without English full back Delon Armitage , who reportedly suffered a broken hand in Sunday ’ s win over Leinster .
coaches have recently All Blacks flyhalf Aaron Cruden needs knee surgery . The 26-year - old injured his knee during clash with Canterbury sharks . Surgery is likely to keep him out of a minimum of six months of action . That means All Blacks ace Cruden will miss this summer 's super Cup .