'No words can comfort him': Bok hopeful out for the season
NEWS: The Bulls will be without one of their key backline players for the rest of the season.
On Thursday, head coach Johan Ackermann confirmed that wing Sebastian de Klerk will undergo surgery on his foot after suffering a “Lisfranc injury” [mid-foot ligament injury] in the 19-32 defeat to the Stormers last weekend.
He is set to be out of action until the end of the year.
“Sebastian unfortunately has to get an operation, so he is going to be out for a long time,” Ackermann told reporters ahead of Friday’s showdown against Cardiff at Loftus Versfeld.
“It’s a Lisfranc injury, and that means it needs to be fixed surgically.
“I don’t want to speculate, but it is five to six months recovery time, and then they have to remove stuff, and then it’s another period out.
“To my understanding, that’s how they fix it. So, we will probably only see him back at the end of the year.
“He is a man of faith. Let’s hope that everything goes well and we see him back on the field sooner.”
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It’s a massive blow for De Klerk’s own aspirations after he was included in the Springbok alignment camp in Cape Town earlier this month.
“There are no words that can comfort him,” Ackermann added.
“He is disappointed for various reasons. Firstly, he can’t play, and secondly, he had a taste of the Springbok environment.
“I know the Springbok coaches speak very highly of him, so that’s a disappointment.
“Sometimes you don’t always have the answers, but hopefully everybody in the group will be there to support him and pray for him.
“There is still enough time for him to come back and play well, and who knows – he can still go to the World Cup.
“Nothing is impossible, but at the moment, he just needs the support of everybody.”
Meanwhile, Harold Vorster is expected to return to action next week after suffering a concussion against the Stormers.
Prop Wilco Louw was not considered for selection this week due to a “personal” matter.
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