Here’s the latest version of the Springboks’ rapidly growing injury list, with an update featuring the recent Eben Etzebeth news.
Rugby is a game filled with massive collisions and centred around physicality, making injuries part and parcel of the sport. And the Springboks’ rapidly growing injury count is proof thereof.
The Springboks will only be back in action in July, which is still some five months away. But that doesn’t make the long —and growing — list of injured Test players any less concerning.
Apart from the players still nursing injuries from the Rugby World Cup, several other Springboks have sustained knocks while on club duty in the days and months since the big tournament.
Here’s a complete list of all the Springboks currently injured:
- Vincent Kock (knee)
- Malcolm Marx (knee)
- Jean Kleyn (knee)
- Kwagga Smith (thigh)
- Faf de Klerk (knee)
- Jesse Kriel (thumb)
- Eben Etzebeth (knee)
Following their respective injuries sustained at the Rugby World Cup, Marx and Koch have not appeared in any games since.
Marx will miss the full Japanese season because he plays for the Kubota Spears. It is still unknown if he will fully recuperate in time for the July commencement of the Springboks’ mid-year Tests.
In November of last year, physicians declared Koch ineligible for almost three months. Assuming his recovery regimen proceeds as planned, he should be able to resume his activities at any time. Sadly, though, he hasn’t even started practicing regularly with the Sharks, let alone participating in any games.
Kleyn had suffered an eye injury while playing against Leinster last November and was ruled out for the remainder of Munster’s season. And because the eye knock was ‘slow to recover’, Kleyn made the decision to get surgery on a recurring knee injury during this time.
As for Kwagga Smith, he is in danger of missing the Springboks’ mid-year Tests altogether after he was sidelined for five months with an adductor tendon rupture which required corrective surgery.
De Klerk (knee) and Kriel (thumb) are also presently not able to perform. The two are anticipated to recover in time for the one game against Portugal and the two-Test series against Ireland.
Finally, it has been confirmed by the Sharks that Eben Etzebeth will miss an indefinite amount of time from play as a result of a knee knock that also necessitated surgery.
Marx, Smith, Kriel, and de Klerk, the wounded Springbok foursome stationed in Japan, have all chosen to recover at home in South Africa.
SPRINGBOKS TEST FIXTURES (UPDATED):
Incoming Series:
Saturday, 6 July: Springboks vs Ireland (Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria)
Saturday, 13 July: SA vs Ireland (Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban)
Saturday, 20 July: Springboks vs Portugal (Toyota Stadium, Bloemfontein)
Rugby Championship:
Saturday, 10 August: Australia vs SA (Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane)
Saturday, 17 August: Australia vs Springboks (Optus Stadium, Perth)
Saturday, 31 August: SA vs New Zealand (Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg)
Saturday, 7 September: Springboks v New Zealand (DHL Stadium, Cape Town)
Saturday, 21 September: Argentina v SA (venue TBC)
Saturday, 28 September: Springboks v Argentina (Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit)
