Pienaar to miss a chunk of the revamped season

INJURY UPDATE: Cheetahs will have to conclude their Super Rugby Unlocked without talisman and captain Ruan Pienaar.

Veteran Springbok Pienaar sustained an injury during the Cheetahs’ 19-17 win over the Bulls on Friday.

The scrumhalf left the field on a mobile stretcher after 15 minutes with a serious-looking knee injury after getting tackled by Marco van Staden.

The 36-year-old was replaced by Tian Meyer at scrumhalf and Junior Pokomela took the captain’s armband.

Cheetahs coach Hawies Fourie was very upbeat about the injury during the post-match media briefing in Bloemfontein.

However, it has now been confirmed that Pienaar will be sidelined until the end of December with a torn medial cruciate ligament (MCL).

The injury means that Pienaar will miss the rest of the Super Rugby Unlocked campaign.

However, should his recovery progress well he could still be part in the later stages of the local Currie Cup season which starts from November 28 to January 9, 2021 – with the semifinals being played on January 16 and a final on January 23 next year.

Table-toppers Cheetahs take on the Lions on Saturday in Johannesburg.

Ruan Pienaar sustained a knee (MCL) injury during the Vodacom Super Rugby Unlocked match against the Vodacom Bulls on Friday evening.

Should his recovery progress well, he is expected to be back on the field at the end of December.@ToyotaSA pic.twitter.com/ZZK5GHRoYx

— Toyota Cheetahs (@CheetahsRugby) October 19, 2020