Bok injury cloud over Schalk?
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Schalk Burger's neck injury sustained against the Cheetahs has ruled him out of the Stormers game against the Sharks, but are there further implications?
Burger injured himself in a tackle with fellow Springbok Coenie Oosthuizen in the Stormers' 33-0 thrashing of Cheetahs. He did not return for the second half.
Burger complained of neck spasms after the match and had hoped it would be a quick recovery.
However, due to the nature of the injury, especially to the Springbok flank who has had his fair share of neck issues, it seems every precaution needs to be taken.
Stormers coach Allister Coetzee, when announcing his team to face the Sharks, said Burger was making good progress but there was still some assessment needed.
"There has been massive progress with Schalk, but it was always going to be a 10 day injury to settle the neck spasms," he said from the Stormers High Performance centre in Bellville.
"It looks like the progress has been good, but he is definitly not ready for this weekend.
When quizzed about Burger's readiness to play if called upon for the Boks, the coach was hopeful.
"I hope so [that he will be fit to play], I cant say, he will probably be assessed next week," the Stormers boss added.
"Obviously there are various tests that they would look at Schalk doing because he is a forward and part of a scrummaging pack where he packs down on the flank.
"It is not something that you can hide and also, with Schalk's history with his neck, one has got to be over cautious and make sure you make the right decision and that it is 100 per cent.
By Darryn Pollock
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