Cheetahs team counts cost of Bulls stalemate

INJURY UPDATE: The Cheetahs calculate the cost of their comeback that ended in a 34-all draw against the Bulls in the Currie Cup.

The Cheetahs confirmed that they had lost three key players ahead of their clash against Western Province this coming weekend in Cape Town.

No.8 Friedle Olivier (concussion), centre Munier Hartzenberg (Shoulder) and loose forward Daniel Maartens (finger) all picked up injuries in the match against the Bulls.

“I’m not playing this weekend, I got concussion here [Free State Stadium] against the Bulls.” Olivier said.

He followed up by explaining why he came back from his head injury assessment and when symptoms started to show.

“In the 65th minute I got concussion here on the field, I got a massive blow against the head, but I passed [the HIA] and I continued playing the game and then on Sunday morning I started getting the symptoms.”

Head coach Izak van der Westhuizen provided further insight on current injured players’ state and their timeline as well as the trio who suffered injuries in the match against the Bulls.

“Prince’s [Nkabinde] concussion wasn’t just a concussion, he ended up having a fracture in his cheek as well so it’s going to be a bit longer than we thought initially, Litha [Nkula] is looking good, he’s starting to make good progress, think he might be another couple of weeks.

“Unfortunately this weekend we did pick up three injuries that will force changes to the side, but it’s only the three for the weekend.”

He followed up by providing insight on the players in question and mentioned a possible returnee.

“Daniel Maartens picked up an injury, he’s going to be [out] a couple of weeks, it’s a little bit longer than we thought initially, and then Munier Hartzenberg also picked up an injury but he is going to be short term, he only going to be a week most likely.”

“Munier’s got a bit of a shoulder niggle and Daniel’s finger is broken so he’s out for six weeks.”

“Ewardi [Boshoff] might be back this weekend.”