VIDEO: Two Boks in doubt for Ireland Test
INJURY UPDATE: The Springboks could be without two of their biggest stars for their crunch World Cup Pool B clash against Ireland next week.
Lock Eben Etzebeth, who left the field with a shoulder injury midway through the first half against Scotland last Sunday, was initially given a seven- to 10-day recovery plan.
However, that has now been upgraded to 10 to 14 days, after a review of his scans.
The other star in doubt for the Ireland match is Malcolm Marx.
The hooker suffered an unspecified injury during training on Wednesday and he set to go for scans to determine the extent of it.
On Sunday, the Springboks face Romania in their second Pool B match in Bordeaux.
Neither player was scheduled to feature against minnows Romania.
However, with the Ireland game just 10 days away, Etzebeth is almost certainly a non-starter – unless there is a dramatic recovery in the next week.
Nienaber said they will not risk any player, unless he is “100 percent fit”.
(WATCH as Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber gives an injury update and it is not good news…)
“Eben’s scans and assessments came back,” he said, adding: “We believe it is [now] going to be a 10- to 14-day injury.
“He didn’t participate in training yesterday [Tuesday], but he was on the field today [Wednesday].
“It is something the medical staff will manage and monitor.
“To repeat, he has to be 100 percent fit.
“Given the pool we are in, we don;’t have the luxury to play a guy that is iffy – 95 or 98 percent fit.
“He must be 100 percent fit if he wants to be selected.”
He revealed that star hooker Malcolm Marx picked up an injury at training on Wednesday.
“He went for assessments and we’ll know the extent later,” the coach added.
However, he decline to specify what type of injury it was, citing South Africa’s POPI Act – which requires organizations to adequately protect sensitive information.
The Act give people control over how their personal information can be collected, processed, stored, and shared.
Nienaber also confirmed that flank Marco van Staden has been training and is marked down on their team sheet as a ‘back up hooker’ meaning he and Deon Fourie will cover if Bongi Mbonambi is injured.
“He participated in the line-out and scrumming sessions as another back-up for us,” the coach said.
Nienaber confirmed that Canan Moodie and Jean Kleyn has fully recovered from their injuries – which prevented them from training fully during the pre-tournament camp in Corsica.
However, since the team’s arrival in France the duo took full part in all training sessions and have been selected.
Moodie will start at outside centre and Kleyn at lock.
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– The Bok matchday squad to face Romania 👇
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