Bulls dealt injury scare over Bok star after Ulster win
INJURY UPDATE: The Bulls’ nervy 34-26 win over Ulster in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship on Saturday came at a heavy price.
Three key players suffered injuries during the match and are set to be sidelined for the foreseeable future.
Springbok flyhalf Handré Pollard, along with Sango Xamlashe and Cheswill Jooste, all suffered knocks during the second half of the Round Four encounter at Loftus Versfeld.
Pollard left the field in the 70th minute with a hamstring injury, while Jooste failed his head injury assessment (HIA).
Xamlashe was stretchered off before the hour mark after suffering a concussion and was taken to hospital for further assessment.
Bulls head coach Johan Ackermann provided an update on the trio after the match.
“It’s our first game where we had a fair share of casualties,” Ackermann said.
“The positive is that they are probably not muscular, or it’s not long-term stuff.
“It’s all head knocks, and it’s probably Handrè’s that’s the bigger one. It’s a hamstring, and time will tell how long that’s going to be.”
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Ackermann also provided an update on Springbok winger Canan Moodie, who also suffered a concussion against the Lions two weeks ago.
Moodie missed the opening round of the Investec Champions Cup against Stade Français last Saturday.
Although he returned to training during the week, he’s not yet match-ready, according to the Bulls mentor.
“Canan has got a return-to-play protocol with his concussion.
“Because of his past, we are taking it a little bit easier, so we will take it week by week and see where he is.
“He did well this week on his return, but we’ll reassess on Monday where he is.”
Ackermann further praised his side for adapting to the injuries and seeing through the game with a reshuffled backline.
“It does challenge you [getting injuries] because you have to shift players into different positions.
“Paul [De Wet] had to play wing and so on, but that’s not an excuse. We prepare for that in the week, and it’s more a bit of mixed emotions where we got the victory, but we felt we hung in there.”
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