Ongoing injury issues are likely to force All Black coach Graham Henry to go ahead with his stated plan of moving star flyhalf Dan Carter to inside centre for the decisive Tri-Nations Test against the Springboks in Hamilton on Saturday.

Five first choice midfielders - Luke McAlister, Conrad Smith, Tamati Ellison, Richard Kahui and Casey Laulala - are injured and Henry is scratching his head and scrambling for a solution.

Henry told the Sunday Star-Times in New Zealand that he may be forced to shift Dan Carter to No.12, with local Waikato star Stephen Donald starting at flyhalf and Mils Muliaina moving from fullback to outside centre.

Henry will have taken note of the Wallaby success in swapping Matt Giteau with Berrick Barnes around at pivot, during their 21-6 win over the Boks in Brisbane at the weekend, but also has to be cautious because Springbok centres Jaque Fourie and Jean de Villiers are in the form of their lives as a combination.

And as they could be playing their final Test together in Hamilton, with De Villiers joining Irish club Munster after the Tri-Nations and thus becoming ineligible for Springbok selection, Henry will be taking a huge gamble giving Muliaina the No.13 jersey.

The return of Carter, at flyhalf, coincided with a turnaround in All Black fortune two weeks ago when they beat Australia before 80 000 spectators in Sydney.

Carter put through the crucial late kick that forced wing Lachie Turner into an error and then slotted the winning penalty.

Henry also revealed that enigmatic Blues utility back Isaia Toeava was not being seriously considered for a spot against the Boks because he was still being hampered by a gluteal muscle problem.

"That's affecting his performance, so he's lacking a wee bit of explosiveness," Henry said.

The run of injuries among Henry's midfield contenders sees him shorn of five key figures.

"That means we're going to have to play some guys out of position," Henry said. "There's nothing we can do about that. We've just got to take it on the chin and move on."

Henry said both Carter and Donald had been spoken to about making potential positional shifts.

"They both always put the team first. They're brilliant young guys and they'll do what's best for the team," he said.

There was much better news regarding the loose forward mix, with Kieran Read set to resume his fledgling career as a Test No.8 after picking up a knee injury against the Wallabies in Sydney.

"He trained with us on Wednesday and trained reasonably well," Henry told the Star-Times.

That should ensure that Rodney So'oialo remains on bench duty as he battles to find his best form.

Henry conceded that the All Blacks had struggled in this year's Tri-Nations and the Springboks were the strongest side he had encountered in his six years in charge.