No surgery for Habana
Veteran Springbok and Stormers wing Bryan Habana may well spend the next 10 weeks on the sidelines, but he won't require surgery.
Habana, who picked up a knee injury during his team's high-octane 36-34 Super Rugby win over the Chiefs at the weekend, underwent a scan.
The result confirmed that he partially tore his Medial Collateral Ligament in his left knee.
However, Habana said on his official Twitter page that there is good news.
"I don't need an op, but will be in a brace for a couple of weeks," the Bok flyer said, adding: "Lets get this rehab started!"
Stormers coach Allister Coetzee also released an update on other injured players on Monday.
Forward Michael Rhodes (hamstring), centre Juan de Jongh (hamstring) and fullback Jaco Taute (groin area) will continue with one-on-one rehabilitation this week.
They will all three be ready for full training next week – ahead of the Stormers' next match against the Brumbies on Saturday, March 23.
Coetzee admitted the loss of Habana is a blow, but the return of Taute offsets the setback.
"When you lose a Springbok and a quality player like Bryan [Habana] it's never an ideal situation, but we're getting Jaco Taute back," Coetzee said.
"Gerhard van den Heever played very, very well when he came on, and Gio Aplon played just as well, so we have enough replacements there.
"We wish Bryan well for a speedy recovery and when he returns he'll be back in the mix, but our focus is fully on the replacements now," added the Stormers coach.
"The bye has come at a good time for us, as it will allow these few injury niggles that we have to clear up and, importantly, it will also allow us to take stock of where we're at after our first three games."
