Vermeulen 'cleared' for play-offs

Stormers captain Duane Vermeulen has been cleared to play in he Super Rugby play-offs, which gets underway in just under a fortnight.

Concerns over Vermeulen's neck injury as raised when he withdrew from the Super Rugby encounter with the Lions at Newlands at the weekend.

Vermeulen was a late withdrawal from the team that played to a 19-all draw with the Lions at Newlands, with team doctor Jason Suter revealing that it was the result of a "bulging disc" in the C5 level of his neck.

The Springbok No.8 saw a neurosurgeon on Monday and at the results came back very positive.

While he will miss this coming Saturday's final Super Rugby league match against the Sharks in Durban – he was due for a rest anyway – he will be available for the play-offs tat get underway on the weekend of June 19 and 20.

Stormers team doctor Jason Suter confirmed that the player has been cleared from serious damage.

"The neurosurgeon has given us the positive feedback that he continues to improve and that he still shows no signs of specific nerve root irritation," Suter said.

"After reviewing the MRI with his radiology colleagues, the neurosurgeon is confident that the disc bulge is old and has not changed from previous scans, and is not the cause of the severe spasm [which ruled Vermeulen out of the weekend's match].

"He has recommended no surgical management and Duane will undergo extensive physiotherapy over the next 10 days.

"The neurosurgeon has also indicated that there is no risk of exacerbating the injury and feels that Duane will be able to play in the Super Rugby play-offs.

"The Stormers medical team will continue to manage him, and he will obtain a second neurosurgical opinion tomorrow [Tuesday] to ensure he is given all possible input to his injury and its management."