Smith in moon boot, misses flight

New Zealand will be sweating over the fitness of full-back Ben Smith after it was confirmed he will miss the Highlanders tour due to injury.

Smith had his ankle trapped in an awkward position while taking on the Stormers on Friday, a fixture the Highlanders won 57-14 in Dunedin.

And now it has been confirmed to Stuff by a Highlanders spokesperson that he was in a moon boot and was not on the flight for their tour.

It has been reported that Smith will miss the meeting with the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein and the visit to the Bulls in Pretoria on May 13.

Smith is set to return to the squad in Perth in three weeks when they face the Force, with New Zealand set to be monitoring him carefully.