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Cape Town - Springbok loose forward Joe van Niekerk will go under the knife on Wednesday to repair a long-standing finger problem.
The Toulon captain - who played the entire 80 minutes in Saturday's 34-31 win over Wales in Cardiff - has been battling with an injury to the small finger on his left hand and was always set to undergo surgery to fuse two bones in his troublesome finger this week.
Van Niekerk had already set the date for his operation before being called up for the one-off Test against Wales, having initially been set to play two matches for the Barbarians (against England and Ireland) on May 30 and June 4.
He withdrew from the two Barbarians matches to play for the Boks, but is now able to have the operation as he was always set to feature against Wales only - having agreed with Bok coach Peter de Villiers that he would not be considered against France and Italy over the next three weeks.
"I actually had some very positive discussions with Peter de Villiers after Saturday's game against Wales," Van Niekerk said on www.in-site.co.za.
"Considering that this team was put together at short notice and we had just three proper training sessions together, I thought we did well against Wales... In fact, I was quite surprised at the coach's comments this week, about the standards of the French Top 14," he added.
"I've played Currie Cup, Super Rugby and (now) Top 14 rugby and I can honestly say that the Top 14 compares more than favourably with those competitions - after all France are the Six Nations and Grand Slam champions and Toulouse won yet another Heineken Cup title this season. They must be doing something right in the Top 14."
Having guided Toulon into the 2010/2011 Heineken Cup - thanks to their second-place finish in the 2009/10 Top 14 - the 52-times capped Springbok will now get some time off before preparing for the new season in France.
"I've had two long and physical seasons at Toulon - this past season I played over 30 matches for the club," said Big Joe.
"This finger of mine has been bothering me for some time, so I'm looking forward to hopefully straightening it properly over the summer!"
Looking ahead to his off-season break - after the operation - Van Niekerk added: "I will also be spending a bit of time in the USA, where my girlfriend is working at present, but I plan on hitting the ground running come the start of the new season in France.
"I must've done something right to attract Peter's attention in the first place, so perhaps they will consider us overseas-based players (again) come the Grand Slam tour at the end of the year."
The Toulon captain - who played the entire 80 minutes in Saturday's 34-31 win over Wales in Cardiff - has been battling with an injury to the small finger on his left hand and was always set to undergo surgery to fuse two bones in his troublesome finger this week.
Van Niekerk had already set the date for his operation before being called up for the one-off Test against Wales, having initially been set to play two matches for the Barbarians (against England and Ireland) on May 30 and June 4.
He withdrew from the two Barbarians matches to play for the Boks, but is now able to have the operation as he was always set to feature against Wales only - having agreed with Bok coach Peter de Villiers that he would not be considered against France and Italy over the next three weeks.
"I actually had some very positive discussions with Peter de Villiers after Saturday's game against Wales," Van Niekerk said on www.in-site.co.za.
"Considering that this team was put together at short notice and we had just three proper training sessions together, I thought we did well against Wales... In fact, I was quite surprised at the coach's comments this week, about the standards of the French Top 14," he added.
"I've played Currie Cup, Super Rugby and (now) Top 14 rugby and I can honestly say that the Top 14 compares more than favourably with those competitions - after all France are the Six Nations and Grand Slam champions and Toulouse won yet another Heineken Cup title this season. They must be doing something right in the Top 14."
Having guided Toulon into the 2010/2011 Heineken Cup - thanks to their second-place finish in the 2009/10 Top 14 - the 52-times capped Springbok will now get some time off before preparing for the new season in France.
"I've had two long and physical seasons at Toulon - this past season I played over 30 matches for the club," said Big Joe.
"This finger of mine has been bothering me for some time, so I'm looking forward to hopefully straightening it properly over the summer!"
Looking ahead to his off-season break - after the operation - Van Niekerk added: "I will also be spending a bit of time in the USA, where my girlfriend is working at present, but I plan on hitting the ground running come the start of the new season in France.
"I must've done something right to attract Peter's attention in the first place, so perhaps they will consider us overseas-based players (again) come the Grand Slam tour at the end of the year."
