Sharks centre Tim Whitehead has been ruled out of Saturday’s Super Rugby final against the Chiefs in Hamilton.

Whitehead suffered a broken hand in the 26-19 semi-final win over the Stormers in Cape Town and didn’t fly out with the team.

He won’t be replaced in the squad as utility backs Patrick Lambie and Paul Jordaan have both recovered from injuries, giving coach John Plumtree 11 backs to select from.

The Durban-based team have arrived in Sydney and Plumtree will oversee a low-key build-up in Coogee.

“What we need to do is emphasise rest as much as possible and maybe just let the players take their minds away from the game,” Plumtree told reporters.

“There is nothing we can do now in terms of training and, if we tried to do that, it would be counterproductive. The guys must just spend as much time as possible off their feet.”

Meanwhile, the Chiefs continue to play a waiting game over the fitness of captain Craig Clarke.

The experienced lock suffered a grade-two medial ligament knee strain early in the 20-17 home semi-final defeat of the Crusaders. He will be on light training duties for most of the week.

Both teams will be named on Thursday.