De Villiers setting sights on RWC
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Springbok captain Jean de Villiers on Thursday underwent successful surgery in Stellenbosch on the left knee he injured in the final Test of the season, last Saturday against Wales in Cardiff.
De Villiers had a full reconstruction of the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments with an artificial graft, as well as a repair of the medial collateral ligament.
“The procedure went well, but at this stage it is difficult to determine an exact return to play time-frame,” said Springbok team doctor Craig Roberts.
“The use of an artificial graft should speed up his rehabilitation and hopefully increase his chances of making a successful return to the playing field.”
De Villiers said: “I would like to thank every medical practitioner involved in my injury, from Saturday when it happened until today’s operation.
“My focus will now be on the arrival of our third child in the coming days. Thereafter it will be about recovering as soon as possible so I can start with my rehabilitation.
"I still have my sights set on going to next year’s Rugby World Cup and will do everything in my power to get to England.
“I would also like to thank everyone for the well-wishes and support in the last week, it means a lot to me and my family and we really appreciate every message.”
De Villiers has had a terrible run of luck when it comes to World Cups.
In 2002, seven minutes into his international debut against France, De Villiers severely damaged ligaments in his knee, he spent nine months recuperating and returned just in time for the Springboks 2003 World Cup campaign.
However, as the Springboks warmed up in Australia for the 2003 tournament, the skipper suffered a shoulder injury that ruled him out of the whole competition.
In 2007, De Villiers tore his bicep and played no further role in the World Cup- this led to the rise of Frans Steyn as a world class centre.
Now it seems that it may be written in the stars that De Villiers is destined not to play in the 2015 edition of the World Cup with the similarities between his lead up to 2003 and to 2015 awfully familiar.
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