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Bloemfontein - The Free State Cheetahs have revealed that flyhalf Johan Goosen could make a surprise return to action against the Blue Bulls in their crucial Currie Cup clash in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
Goosen has not been included in the original squad to face the Bulls when the team was announced earlier on Wednesday.
It now looks as if Goosen has made a miraculous recovery from an appendectomy, after his potentially season-ending knee injury sustained while playing for the Cheetahs in the Super Rugby competition earlier this year.
Goosen has been out of action since March and an untimely appendectomy has further delayed his protracted return to competitive action.
Free State Cheetahs backline coach Hawies Fourie said that they are still assessing Goosen's progress and will give him until later in the week to prove his fitness.
"We are going to give him time till Friday," Fourie told Rugby365's website.
"He has had two training sessions with the team this week and we will make the call at Friday's captain's run."
However, Fourie also said that if the Cheetahs are to secure their semi-final place, Goosen will need to have had some playing time under his belt in order to be ready and considered for selection.
"If we want to use him in the play-offs, we have to give him at least one game before the semi-finals," Fourie said, when asked about the decision to rush Goosen back.
"As far as his knee (injury) is concerned, he is 100%," confirmed Fourie.
"However, we have to take all the factors into consideration before making the call."
"We will see at Friday's captain's run how he has progressed," Fourie said, before confirming that should Goosen play, he will take the place of Piet Lindeque on the substitutes' bench.
Teams:
Free State Cheetahs:
15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Rayno Benjamin, 13 Johann Sadie, 12 Robert Ebersohn, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Elgar Watts, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Philip van der Walt, 7 Pieter Labuschagne, 6 Boom Prinsloo, 5 Lodewyk de Jager, 4 Francois Uys, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Coenie Oosthuizen
Substitutes: 16 AJ Le Roux, 17 Schalk van der Merwe, 18 Teboho Mohoje, 19 Freddy Ngoza,20 Piet van Zyl, 21 Piet Lindeque/Johan Goosen, 22 Willie du Plessis
Blue Bulls:
15 Jurgen Visser, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Rudy Paige, 8 Jacques Engelbrecht, 7 Jacques du Plessis, 6 Jono Ross (captain), 5 David Bullbring, 4 Paul Willemse, 3 Frik Kirsten, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Marcel van der Merwe
Substitutes: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 Werner Kruger, 18 Grant Hattingh, 19 Jean Cook, 20 Lohan Jacobs, 21 Francois Venter, 22 Clayton Blommetjies
Goosen has not been included in the original squad to face the Bulls when the team was announced earlier on Wednesday.
It now looks as if Goosen has made a miraculous recovery from an appendectomy, after his potentially season-ending knee injury sustained while playing for the Cheetahs in the Super Rugby competition earlier this year.
Goosen has been out of action since March and an untimely appendectomy has further delayed his protracted return to competitive action.
Free State Cheetahs backline coach Hawies Fourie said that they are still assessing Goosen's progress and will give him until later in the week to prove his fitness.
"We are going to give him time till Friday," Fourie told Rugby365's website.
"He has had two training sessions with the team this week and we will make the call at Friday's captain's run."
However, Fourie also said that if the Cheetahs are to secure their semi-final place, Goosen will need to have had some playing time under his belt in order to be ready and considered for selection.
"If we want to use him in the play-offs, we have to give him at least one game before the semi-finals," Fourie said, when asked about the decision to rush Goosen back.
"As far as his knee (injury) is concerned, he is 100%," confirmed Fourie.
"However, we have to take all the factors into consideration before making the call."
"We will see at Friday's captain's run how he has progressed," Fourie said, before confirming that should Goosen play, he will take the place of Piet Lindeque on the substitutes' bench.
Teams:
Free State Cheetahs:
15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Rayno Benjamin, 13 Johann Sadie, 12 Robert Ebersohn, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Elgar Watts, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Philip van der Walt, 7 Pieter Labuschagne, 6 Boom Prinsloo, 5 Lodewyk de Jager, 4 Francois Uys, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Coenie Oosthuizen
Substitutes: 16 AJ Le Roux, 17 Schalk van der Merwe, 18 Teboho Mohoje, 19 Freddy Ngoza,20 Piet van Zyl, 21 Piet Lindeque/Johan Goosen, 22 Willie du Plessis
Blue Bulls:
15 Jurgen Visser, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Rudy Paige, 8 Jacques Engelbrecht, 7 Jacques du Plessis, 6 Jono Ross (captain), 5 David Bullbring, 4 Paul Willemse, 3 Frik Kirsten, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Marcel van der Merwe
Substitutes: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 Werner Kruger, 18 Grant Hattingh, 19 Jean Cook, 20 Lohan Jacobs, 21 Francois Venter, 22 Clayton Blommetjies
