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Durban - Bismarck du Plessis will not be back to play for the Sharks in this weekend’s crucial Currie Cup clash with the Cheetahs, but he could well be back for the following week’s match against the Leopards.
Sharks assistant coach Grant Bashford told a press conference in Durban on Tuesday that Du Plessis may be back for this week, but an assessment on how the hooker is feeling after his first contact sessions since surgery have now ruled him out of consideration for this week.
“I did say on Tuesday that Bismarck might be back for this week’s game and we were hopeful that he might be able to play some part, but we have subsequently decided, after speaking to Bismarck and taking a look at him, that it will not be possible this week,” said Bashford.
“However he is back in training, he has taken contact, and I am sure next week he will be ready to play for us. Willem Alberts played for us as a replacement last week and Jean Deysel is also expected back within the next two weeks, so things are starting to look up for us in terms of players coming back from injury.”
Du Plessis’s return from a four month injury lay-off will be good news not just for the Sharks, but also for the Springboks, who could do with his mobility and on-the-ball aggression during the home leg of the Tri-Nations season. Should he regain his form, he could join two further experienced Boks in JP Pietersen and Juan Smith in adding to the national team's depth for the remaining matches of what so far has been a disastrous campaign.
The injured Boks are not the only players with international experience returning to the fray for the Sharks. Ryan Kankowski is also available for the match against the Cheetahs, and it leaves coach John Plumtree with an interesting selection quandary as he has four quality loose forwards available for this week in the form of Keegan Daniel, Jacques Botes, Alberts and Kankowski.
The Sharks team will be announced on Thursday and is expected to be the strongest yet assembled by the Sharks during the new domestic season as the Cheetahs are the team that put them out of the competition in the semi-finals last year and are recognised as the Durban side’s hoodoo opponents.
The Sharks lost their opening game against Griquas in Kimberley before bouncing back against the Blue Bulls, so there is a lot of pressure on them going into the Cheetahs match.
