The luckless Slade, who has won ten New Zealand caps as understudy to Dan Carter, had an operation on his injured left leg in Canberra on Sunday and will play no further part in the season. Slade missed much of the last Super Rugby season when he broke his jaw twice and when Carter was ruled out of the World Cup last October, a groin strain of his own prevented the 24-year-old from making the most of his opportunity. With his back-up Liam Sopoaga also ruled out for a lengthy period with a shoulder problem, Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph faces a desperate scramble to find another fly-half before their next match on Friday. Adding to his problems, flanker John Hardie was also condemned to a long period on the sidelines after breaking his toe and missing the 33-26 defeat to the Brumbies, which brought an end to their impressive run of four wins to start the season. “It’s pretty horrific, really,” said Joseph. “We don’t do things by halves at the Highlanders. The one thing I know about this group of guys is they are pretty tough.”