Bok veteran under the knife
BREAKING NEWS: Seasoned Springbok World Cup winner Duane Vermeulen underwent surgery on Wednesday.
Vermeulen, 34 and capped 54 times by the Boks since his debut almost a decade ago, confirmed the surgery when he posted a pre-operation picture on his social media page.
The No.8 hobbled off in the Rainbow Cup encounter between the Bulls and Stormers at Loftus Versfeld this past Friday.
He left the field just on the half-hour mark and immediately put ice on the injured ankle.
Bulls coach Jake White said in the post-match media briefing he was fearing the worst – a sentiment echoed by both coach Jacques Nienaber and South Africa’s Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus.
Vermeulen travelled to Cape Town over the weekend to consult a specialist.
SA Rugby and the Bulls have not commented, but Vermeulen revealed the news on Instagram.
“Here we gooo…” he wrote.
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It is not clear if the surgery will rule Vermeulen out of the Test series against the British and Irish Lions.
The burly loose forward has just over six weeks of rehabilitation before the first Test – in Cape Town on July 24.
The surgery is to repair ligament damage Vermeulen suffered at Loftus Versfeld.
The B&I Lions tour gets underway on July 3 – when they face the Johannesburg-based Lions at Ellis Park.
They face the Sharks (July 7, Ellis Park), the Bulls (July 10, Loftus Versfeld), South Africa ‘A’ (July 14, Cape Town Stadium), Stormers (July 17, Cape Town Stadium).
The Test matches are on Saturday, July 24 (Cape Town Stadium), Saturday, July 31 (Soccer City, Soweto) and Saturday, August 7 (Soccer City, Soweto).
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