Rugby
Bakkies back after eye injury
2013-02-07 18:01
Toulon - Toulon's South African lock Bakkies
Botha will be back in action after almost two months on the sidelines
for the clash with Bordeaux on Saturday and has insisted he will come
back "stronger".
The Springbok star suffered a fractured eye
socket during his club's 62-0 rout of English club Sale in European Cup
action in mid-December and the 33-year-old required surgery.
He
will now hope to play at least some part of the match as Toulon have
Jocelino Suta on Six Nations duty with France while Simon Shaw is an
injury worry, leaving Botha and Englishman Nick Kennedy as Toulon's only
recognised options.
Asked about his fitness, Botha told
reporters: "(I'm) very well. I have totally recovered and I'm dying to
get back out there. My injury is 100 percent cured and I'm not afraid of
playing 80 minutes.
"Nick and I can put in a full stint this weekend. We will give everything."
Botha
said he had been working hard on getting ready to resume and added:
"The objective is to bring something back from the Bordeaux game.
Toulon currently lead the Top 14 standings by seven points from Clermont.
Botha
said his aim was to "come back stronger - that's why I have been
watching the matches I didn't participate in. We have a system which we
all adhere to; we all have confidence in our coach Bernard Laporte, and
that's crucial. We just have to fine tune the little details which make
the big difference."