Van der Merwe blow for Bulls

The Bulls were dealt a cruel blow just days into their pre-season, with confirmation that Springbok Flip van der Merwe is set to miss the start of the 2015 season.

Bulls coach Frans Ludeke, speaking exclusively to rugby365 at a media launch in Pretoria, confirmed that Van der Merwe will undergo surgery next Tuesday after damaging his pectoral muscle.

"It was a freak accident," Ludeke said, when asked about the burly lock that was ruled out for the latter half of 2014 after suffering a serious knee injury during the second Springbok Test against Wales in June.

The 29-year-old missed the Boks' Rugby Championship campaign and end-of-year European tour, as well as the Blue Bulls' Currie Cup campaign.  

"He was working out in the gymnasium and was doing 'dips' when he got injured," Ludeke told rugby365.

"It is not something you expect to happen."

The Bulls coach said they won't know the full extent of the damage till after the lock has undergone surgery next week.

"The initial prognosis is about three months, so it looks like he'll miss the start of the season," Ludeke said.

The good news is that all the Bulls' other injured stars – players, like Pierre Spies, Arno Botha, Jurgen Visser, Callie Visagie and Marcel van der Merwe – are on track to return to the playing field in time for the start of the 2015 Super Rugby season in February.

The Bulls started their pre-season build-up on Monday this week and will continue through till mid-December, before breaking ad the regathering early in January.

Ludeke, said they "got closure" on the mistakes of the past season and want to move on, make the adjustments required and think about what they want to achieve this coming season.

"The pre-season at the moment is mostly about conditioning," he said, adding: "There is great energy in the group since we started on Monday this week."

By Jan de Koning