Length of injured Kolbe's lay-off revealed

UPDATE: South African wing Cheslin Kolbe suffered only a ‘sprained’ ankle during Toulon’s win over Lyon in a Top 14 encounter at the weekend.

The 29-year-old, who played five games of the Springboks’ winning World Cup campaign in 2019, left the field in the 36th minute after scoring a try at Stade de Gerland.

“Victim of a sprained ankle, our South African wing is currently undergoing treatment,” Toulon said.

Newspaper L’Equipe claimed he would be out for up to a month with the issue.

* (Continue below ...)

Frustrated and disappointed, but just got to keep the faith and keep going.
Still grateful for the victory and the outcome.
Thank you for all the messages of encouragement. Back soon, I believe 🙏🏻❤️🖤 pic.twitter.com/ANT7G0nDn2

— Cheslin Kolbe (@CheslinKolbe) March 27, 2023

Kolbe is a key member of the Toulon side which nudged its way into the top six in the table on Saturday, giving themselves a chance of competing in the end-of-season play-offs.

He will miss this weekend’s Challenge Cup last 16 tie against South African franchise Cheetahs and is likely also to miss Top 14 matches against Perpignan and Castres.

“Frustrated and disappointed, but just got to keep the faith and keep going,” Kolbe said on social media.

“Still grateful for the victory and the outcome. Thank you for all the messages of encouragement. Back soon, I believe.”

France back row forward Charles Ollivon, who played on Saturday, will also miss the Cheetahs match as he takes a post-Six Nations holiday.

𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐢, 𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐢, 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐢 🔥

Retrouvez les images du match #LOURCT 👇

— RCT – RC Toulon (@RCTofficiel) March 27, 2023