Not Again!The Stormers have reportedly agreed to grant Manie Libbok a sabbatical that will see the flyhalf miss most of next season for the Cape outfit.
According to Rapport, the Springbok playmaker is set to pursue a lucrative stint in Japan League One, which runs from December through May, though his destination club remains undisclosed.
It is believed this deal allows the 27-year-old to boost his earnings while potentially returning for the latter stages of the 2025-26 campaign.
Currently sidelined with a knee injury, Libbok’s availability for the Stormers’ final Vodacom URC league fixtures against Dragons (10 May) and Cardiff (16 May) is uncertain.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Damian Willemse and Jurie Matthee provide sufficient cover at No 10 for Stormers boss John Dobson.
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Good news:Springboks hero offers surgery update following career-threatening injury.
Springboks hero Deon Fourie has offered a positive update on what could have been a career-threatening ankle injury, revealing his surgery was a success.
The 38-year-old, who featured for 77 minutes as a makeshift hooker in the 2023 World Cup final, had also suffered a major knee injury last season, but there were fears this ankle injury could bring his career to a crushing end.
Deon Fourie offers positive surgery update
“They put a plate with a few screws on the broken leg just to get stability back in the ankle,” he told Rapport. The surgery was a success.”
“It was a huge disappointment (to get injured). After the Bok alignment camp, I was very motivated again to play well to get the honour of wearing the Springbok jersey again.”
“Then I got a concussion against Scarlets and now it’s with the leg. At least I have a good support network. My family and my friends keep me busy and positive.”
“Disappointment is never easy,” Fourie continued. “But, I think you have to give yourself a chance to be a little disappointed and angry and then become positive again for the recovery process.”
“It’s just part of rugby. The positive thing for me is that hopefully it will only be 12 weeks and not nine months, like last year.”
“It could have been a lot worse.”
This update comes following Stormers’ boss John Dobson detailing he could be at a ‘crossroads’ due to the severity.
“I don’t know where this leaves us or him to be honest,” the Stormers boss told the media after their URC match against Connacht.
“It looks like a broken tibia. We haven’t scanned or X-rayed him yet, but Keke [Korabe] was out for how long, close to a year with that, so you’d have to do the maths and realise we’re probably at a crossroads.”
Springboks hopes Alive
This positive update will also please Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus. Fourie was one of 75 players invited to a Springboks alignment camp earlier this year, and now this potential 12-week timeframe puts him back in the mix for the Rugby Championship and the November Tests later this year.
The versatile forward, who can cover back-row and hooker, made his Test debut against Wales in July 2022 and has 13 caps to his name at the time of writing, his last coming in the 12-11 win over the All Blacks in the World Cup final.
