Cheetahs flanker suffer broken ankle

NEWS: Cheetahs flanker Gideon van der Merwe will go under the knife on Friday after he was transported off the pitch in the Challenge Cup fixture against Cardiff last weekend.

Cardiff won this encounter 26-10 after the Cheetahs were still ahead 10-5 at halftime.

But a flurry of injuries in the first half saw centre Ali Mgijima (concussion), Van der Merwe (ankle), and Oupa Mohoje all leave the field, forcing coach Izak van der Westhuizen to introduce his bench earlier than planned.

The fiery 29-year-old Van der Merwe consulted a doctor earlier in the week and was informed that he had broken his ankle in two places and would need surgery that would most likely keep him sidelined for four months.

Early indications are that the shoulder injury Mohoje sustained was not as serious.

After playing to a draw in their first outing against Perpignan, and then losing to Cardiff, the Cheetahs are currently fifth in their pool on two points. The leading team in their pool is Connacht with ten points.

The Cheetahs are on a break over the Christmas period and will reconvene on December 30.

They host Zebre Parma at the NRCA Stadium in Amsterdam on Sunday, January 12, and play against Lyon to round off their pool stage fixtures on January 18 in France.

One of the EPCR’s conditions for the Cheetahs’ participation in the EPCR Challenge Cup is that the team is based in Europe and therefore play their Round 1 and 3 home games at the NRCA Stadium in Amsterdam.